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Director Shawn Levy on why he left the Minecraft movie
Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy has left the Minecraft film adaptation, citing creative differences with the game's developer, Mojang. "[Warner Bros.] asked me to develop how might this ever be a story for a movie, because it's a non-narrative game," Levy told the Wall Street Journal. "We came up with an approach that felt good to us, and I discussed it with Mojang ... and they were like, 'That doesn't sound like what we want ... If we're going to see a movie get made, we don't know what we want but that doesn't feel right.'" Levy claims he had four other movies in various stages of pre-production at the time, and that instead of moving forward with the Minecraft film, he opted to pursue those other projects. Despite his choice to walk away, Levy realizes how important the property is to its fans and how much goodwill (not to mention money) is riding on a feature film adaptation of the beloved sandbox game. "I feel like I've let the children of America down," Levy laughed, before pointing out that another director will likely take his place at the helm of Minecraft very soon. [Image: Mojang]
Report: Minecraft movie finds its builder
Deadline reports that Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy is in talks with Warner Bros. to help develop the feature film based on Mojang's $2.5 billion giant, Minecraft. With production helmed by the same producer behind the popular LEGO Movie, Roy Lee, the Minecraft property offers Warner Bros. both quality brand recognition and a canvas free of strict narrative. Levy has a proclivity for shaping high concepts into "hit films," such as his work on Real Steel and the Night at the Museum series, Deadline notes. Language in the report is unclear, but it seems to indicate Levy would also act as director for the project, beyond helping shape the film: "Warner Bros is in talks with Shawn Levy to develop to direct Minecraft." Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to Minecraft in February 2014.
