“It is so funny and we joke about it,” director Jared Hess says.

Yes, the Minecraft Movie Squared team saw Kirsten Dunst’s joke about wanting to be in a movie that made money (exclusive)

"It is so funny and we joke about it," director Jared Hess says.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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June 23, 2026 11:54 a.m. ET

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Kirsten Dunst; Jack Black in 'A Minecraft Movie'. Credit:

Arnold Jerocki/Getty; Everett

- Kirsten Dunst joked in the press about wanting to make a movie that didn't lose money. Then *Minecraft* came calling.

- "It is so funny and we joke about it," Jared Hess, director of *A Minecraft Movie Squared*, tells EW.

- "We were already talking about her. So it was this weird convergence of love."

In an August interview with *Town & Country*, Kirsten Dunst made a joke heard all throughout Hollywood. "Maybe I can just make a movie where I don’t lose money?" she said.

The writer of the piece mentioned specifically that "she’d also really like to be in *Minecraft 2*" because "her kids loved the first one and because she’d like to make a pile of cash."

"It is so funny and we joke about it," Jared Hess, the director who cast her in *A Minecraft Movie Squared*, tells ** for an exclusive Xbox cover story. "Jack [Black] and I were such big fans of Kirsten. I've always wanted to work with her, and Jack as well. So when she started to manifest...We'd seen that [from] her doing some press stuff. We were like, 'Holy cow! This is meant to be,' because we were already talking about her. So it was this weird convergence of love."

Dunst was officially announced for the sequel in March. The actress, recently seen in films *Roofman* with Channing Tatum and *Civil War* with Cailee Spaeny, portrays Alex, the main green-shirted female avatar in the video game. Black will return to his blue shirt as Steve, the game's main male avatar.

Jason Momoa, Jack Black, and Kirsten Dunst on the set of 'A Minecraft Movie Squared'.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Hess describes Alex as "even bigger than Steve in my mind."

"They're so adorable on screen together, and they're having so much fun in every scene that they do," the filmmaker says of Dunst and Black. "She's just eating it up. She's got two young boys that love *Minecraft* and I think spend a lot of time doing *Minecraft* LEGOs, as well. It's some big mom points for Kirsten, and she's working it. She's trying to deliver for her boys, which is awesome."

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Kayleen Walters, a producer on the film and head of Mojang Studios, acknowledges, "We always love when we hear that *Minecraft* means something to your family. Definitely love that and love that she wants to celebrate the excitement of the brand and the movie around the world. Anytime you see an actress of her caliber who has excitement and energy around your brand, you want to have a conversation with her."

When Hess speaks with EW, he's only a few weeks into filming *A Minecraft Movie Squared*. Plot details are still hard to come by, but he calls the sequel "much more ambitious" and notes how "we're bouncing all over the place to so many really, really unique locations. It's bigger, it's crazier, it's funnier." He also confirms what fans suspected by the initial teaser poster, which featured two axes glowing purple: Enchanted items are coming into the mix.

"We're taking Steve and Alex and going on this epic mission back into the Overworld," he says. "We're definitely expanding their abilities and things that they have to do to get the job done."

The first movie became the fifth highest-grossing film of 2025, fueled by the massive fan base and viral trends like the in-theater "chicken jokey" popcorn bonanza. With the sequel, the creators are taking further advantage of the community surrounding the source material. To date, Mojang has sold more than 400 million copies of *Minecraft*, which makes it the best-selling video game in history.

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Warner Bros. and Mojang announced the Build Challenge, in which players can enter for a chance to have an original *Minecraft* build brought to life in the upcoming movie. Hess fully plans to create full sets based off the winning applicants' designs.

"We've got some really expansive environmental shots and really sweeping shots of vistas," he says. "We're able to shoot on location. We're really taking advantage of some of the beautiful scenery that's here in New Zealand. We've kind of gone all over the world and actually shot second unit and plate shots of some really unique biomes that exist in the game. So within those, we're gonna be really bringing in some really cool builds from the player community and feature them in the film, which will be awesome. We're thrilled about it and can't wait to see what they come up with."

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