Agent Derp (MIU film)

This article is about the 2030 film. For the 2021 film, see Agent Derp (2021 film).

Agent Derp
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jackson Gold
Screenplay by	Freddie Goodwin
Story by	Jackson Gold Alex Brow
Based on	Minecraft by Mojang Studios
Produced by	Alex Brow Lena Cross Jackson Gold
Starring	Scott Menville Jenny Slate John Boyega Giancarlo Esposito Sam Rockwell
Music by	Weston Doyle
Production companies	Mob Studios Mob Productions Mojang Studios
Release dates	August 9, 2030 (2030-08-09) (Los Angeles) August 16, 2030 (2030-08-16) (United States)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$135 million
Box office	$738.9 million

Agent Derp is a 2030 American computer-animated spy comedy and adventure film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios. Produced by Mob Studios, Mob Productions, and Mojang Studios, it is the third film in the Minecraft Universe (MIU) and the sixth released project in its opening storyline, "Chapter One: The Broken Seed". The film was directed by Jackson Gold from a screenplay by Freddie Goodwin and a story developed by Gold and Alex Brow. It stars the voices of Scott Menville, Jenny Slate, John Boyega, Giancarlo Esposito, and Sam Rockwell.

The film follows Derp, an accident-prone delivery worker who intercepts an encrypted message intended for an underground intelligence organization known as the Obsidian Bureau. After being mistaken for a highly classified operative, he is assigned to work with intelligence analyst Cipher and field agent Flint to recover the Wayfinder Atlas, a map containing the locations, defenses, communication systems, and hidden routes of settlements across the Overworld. Their investigation leads them to the Broker, a former Bureau operative who intends to auction the information to criminal organizations.

Agent Derp is a complete reinterpretation of the character following his appearance in the Minecraft Cinematic Universe film Agent Derp (2021). Although Menville portrayed Derp in both continuities, the film does not retain the previous version's history, relationships, or association with Steve Stonecutter. Gold described the new Derp as an ordinary civilian whose apparent incompetence conceals an ability to improvise when established plans fail.

Reports of a new Agent Derp film emerged in August 2026. Mob Studios officially placed the project into active development that October, with Gold directing and producing and Goodwin writing. It was initially developed as a standalone production outside "The Broken Seed", but was incorporated into the chapter in November 2026. Menville was confirmed to return as Derp in December after Mob Studios had initially planned to recast the role.

Goodwin completed the first screenplay draft in July 2027 and a revised draft that December, when Slate, Boyega, Esposito, and Rockwell joined the cast. Principal voice recording began in March 2028, followed by principal animation in October. The film was moved forward from May 16, 2031, to August 16, 2030, in September 2028.

Principal animation was completed in December 2029, with post-production continuing through June 2030. The film premiered in Los Angeles on August 9 and was released theatrically in the United States on August 16. It received generally positive reviews, with praise directed toward its physical comedy, animation, voice performances, action sequences, and lighter approach to the Minecraft Universe. Some criticism was directed toward its conventional spy narrative and limited connection to the wider chapter. The film grossed $738.9 million worldwide against a budget of $135 million. A sequel, Agent Derp: Stronghold Protocol, is scheduled to be released in June 2036.

Plot

Derp works as a delivery worker and repair assistant in Crossroads Market, an Overworld settlement built around abandoned mines and railways. While transporting packages through the underground minecart system, he collides with a masked courier and accidentally exchanges bags with Agent D-27, an operative of the secretive Obsidian Bureau. Derp carries the agent's bag into the Bureau's stronghold, where an incomplete phrase on its label is mistaken for a classified emergency code. Director Obsidian concludes that Derp is an undercover operative whose identity has been erased from the organization's records.

Mercenaries attack the stronghold and steal part of the Wayfinder Atlas, an enchanted map containing information about settlements, tunnels, portals, defenses, and trade routes throughout the Overworld. Derp escapes by accidentally activating a malfunctioning grappling device and reaching an unauthorized passage, convincing Obsidian that his incompetence is a disguise. He assigns analyst Cipher and field operative Flint to help Derp recover the Atlas. Cipher believes Derp may be highly trained, while Flint recognizes that he is an ordinary delivery worker. The stolen section begins communicating with other Atlas fragments stored in Bureau facilities. The team pursues the first aboard an automated mining train, where Derp accidentally sends the train through an unfinished tunnel before constructing a temporary track across a collapsed bridge. The fragment is nevertheless taken by an agent of the Broker, a former Bureau operative who accuses Obsidian of using the Atlas to monitor settlements and control access to warnings and protected routes.

At an automated farm containing another fragment, Cipher discovers that the Bureau is secretly collecting information about independent villages. Derp accidentally links his communication helmet to the farm's machinery, allowing him to redirect its malfunctioning harvesters and rescue trapped workers. The team later infiltrates a woodland mansion where the Broker appears to be holding an auction. The gathering is a decoy, while the final fragment is hidden in a rotating underground archive. Derp's attempts to navigate the mechanism inadvertently trap the guards and lead him to the fragment.

The Broker reveals that the Atlas was assembled from cartographer records, Illager intelligence, portal data, trade routes, and information copied from Mina Quill's former redstone network. He argues that the Bureau has become an unelected authority capable of deciding which communities remain protected. Derp refuses to join him after learning that he intends to sell the information rather than expose the Bureau. The Broker escapes with the fragments and announces that the real auction will occur aboard a moving railway platform beneath Crossroads Market. Cipher confronts Obsidian, who admits that the Bureau withheld warnings from smaller settlements to protect major trade centers. When Flint is ordered to arrest Cipher and Derp, he instead helps them pursue the auction train. There, the Broker offers different regions of the Atlas to competing buyers. Cipher realizes this would provoke attacks across the Overworld as each faction attempts to seize the routes it has purchased.

After being captured, Derp discovers that the Atlas is continuously updated through the Bureau's relay network and cannot be destroyed simply by breaking its fragments. Using his malfunctioning helmet, he broadcasts evidence of the Bureau's surveillance to every settlement listed in the Atlas while removing sensitive details about entrances, defenses, and supplies. The transmission overloads the train's redstone systems, separating its carriages. Cipher redirects the railway toward Crossroads Market, Flint evacuates the passengers, and Derp prevents several minecarts from falling into a ravine. The Broker attempts to escape with the Atlas core, but Derp follows him onto the engine. During their confrontation, Derp detaches the engine and constructs a temporary track that sends it crashing into the Bureau's headquarters. The Broker is captured and the Atlas core is destroyed.

Cipher releases the Bureau's records, forcing Obsidian to resign. A representative council is created to oversee the organization's intelligence gathering and distribution of warnings. Flint becomes interim field commander, while Cipher rebuilds the Bureau as a transparent emergency-response organization. Derp accepts the designation Agent D-0 while continuing his delivery work.

In a mid-credits scene, Cipher detects a surviving Atlas signal from a stronghold containing an inactive End portal. In a post-credits scene, Derp accidentally enters a portal leading to a mushroom island.

Voice cast

• Scott Menville as Derp, an accident-prone delivery worker who is mistaken for a trained intelligence operative after intercepting an encrypted message. Despite possessing no formal combat or espionage training, Derp is skilled at improvised construction and survives dangerous situations through unpredictable decisions.
• Jenny Slate as Cipher, an intelligence analyst employed by the Obsidian Bureau. Cipher has extensive knowledge of codes, disguises, surveillance systems, and redstone communication but limited field experience.
• John Boyega as Flint, a disciplined Bureau field operative assigned to recover the Wayfinder Atlas. Flint immediately recognizes that Derp is not an agent but becomes his principal protector during the mission.
• Giancarlo Esposito as Director Obsidian, the secretive leader of the Obsidian Bureau. Obsidian believes concealed intelligence and controlled access to information are necessary to protect important settlements.
• Sam Rockwell as the Broker, a former Bureau operative who steals the Wayfinder Atlas and plans to auction its information. He argues that the Bureau has become an unelected authority controlling access to protection and safe travel.

The film also features Ke Huy Quan as Agent D-27, the missing Bureau courier whose delivery bag is accidentally exchanged with Derp's, and Patti Harrison as Needle, the Bureau's equipment designer whose unfinished devices are issued to Derp.

A recurring group of performers voices Bureau employees, merchants, miners, mercenaries, villagers, Pillagers, railway workers, and Crossroads Market residents.

Gold said the film deliberately avoided using Steve or Alex in principal roles. References to Minecraft: The First Night, Redstone, Netherbound, and Deep Dark establish its place in the Minecraft Universe, but its story focuses on characters who were not involved in the franchise's earlier dimensional conflicts.

Production

Background

The Minecraft Cinematic Universe introduced its version of Derp in Agent Derp (2021). That character was a recurring acquaintance of Steve Stonecutter and became involved in a conflict concerning Herobrine, Entity 303, and an earlier intelligence organization. Menville voiced Derp in the film and several later MCCU appearances.

When Mob Productions abandoned the MCCU and established the Minecraft Universe, the studio initially intended to focus on new interpretations of Steve, Alex, villagers, and the major dimensions. Derp was not included in the first slate announced in July 2026.

Reports emerged in August 2026 that Mob Studios was considering a new Agent Derp film. The project was described as exploratory and was not expected to retain the previous film's story, supporting characters, or relationship with the wider continuity.

Gold proposed reinventing Derp as an ordinary Overworld resident accidentally drawn into an intelligence conflict. He believed the character's physical comedy and tendency to make mistakes could be incorporated into a spy story in which trained operatives were limited by their reliance on procedure.

Development

Mob Studios announced on October 27, 2026, that Agent Derp had entered active development. Gold was confirmed as director and producer, with Goodwin writing the screenplay from a story developed with Gold and Brow. Brow and Lena Cross were also named as producers.

The project was initially described as a standalone Minecraft Universe film outside "Chapter One: The Broken Seed". Mob Studios added it to the chapter in November 2026 and scheduled it for May 16, 2031. The studio said its inclusion reflected its chronology and use of technology introduced elsewhere rather than a decision to make Derp central to the Hollow King storyline.

Gold described the film as a story about an unqualified person becoming useful because trained agents could not anticipate his decisions. He wanted Derp's mistakes to have understandable causes and consequences rather than functioning as unrelated comedy sequences.

Early versions involved Derp being recruited to impersonate a missing agent who resembled him. Gold and Goodwin abandoned the idea because it made the Bureau aware of Derp's inexperience from the beginning. The revised story instead has the organization misinterpret several accidents as evidence that he is a secret operative.

Goodwin completed the first screenplay draft in July 2027. It established Crossroads Market, the Obsidian Bureau, Cipher, Flint, and the Wayfinder Atlas, but featured an antagonist attempting to activate every portal recorded by the Bureau simultaneously.

A revised draft was completed that December. The portal-centered antagonist was replaced by the Broker, and the story was refocused on information ownership, surveillance, and the Bureau's unequal protection of Overworld settlements.

The Wayfinder Atlas contains information gathered from cartographers, traders, abandoned Illager records, and the redstone network maintained by Mina Quill. Its information includes hidden routes and defensive weaknesses but does not retain the predictive function disabled at the end of Redstone.

Goodwin completed the production screenplay in February 2028. Dialogue and action continued to be revised during voice recording and animation, particularly scenes involving Derp accidentally bypassing Bureau security.

In September 2028, Mob Studios moved the film forward from May 16, 2031, to August 16, 2030. Cross said the production had advanced more quickly than anticipated and could use animation resources available after the completion of Minecraft: The First Night.

During the January 2030 Minecraft Universe slate reorganization, The Ender Crown and Minecraft: The Broken Seed were delayed, while Agent Derp retained its August date because its screenplay, voice recording, and principal animation had already been completed.

The film's production budget was reported to be $135 million, excluding marketing costs. Cross said the comparatively lower budget resulted from its Overworld setting and reuse of environmental, redstone, rail, and stronghold assets created for earlier Minecraft Universe productions.

Casting

Mob Studios initially intended to cast a new performer as Derp because the film was a continuity reboot. Gold conducted preliminary auditions during late 2026 and considered several performers associated with physical and improvisational comedy.

Menville approached Gold and Brow after reports indicated that he would not return. He submitted a voice test that removed several characteristics associated with the MCCU version and portrayed Derp as quieter, more anxious, and less aware of how others interpreted his behavior.

On December 14, 2026, Mob Studios announced that Menville would reprise the role. Gold said the casting did not connect the two continuities and compared it to actors portraying alternate versions of an established character.

Menville participated in character workshops throughout 2027 involving dialogue improvisation, movement reference, silent physical comedy, and interactions with unfinished environment models. Gold wanted the animators to construct Derp's accidents from clear physical actions.

Slate, Boyega, Esposito, and Rockwell joined the cast in December 2027. Slate was cast as Cipher after improvising several versions of the character attempting to retain professional authority around Derp. Boyega was selected to provide a more controlled performance as Flint, while Esposito joined as Director Obsidian.

Rockwell's role was initially undisclosed. He was revealed as the Broker when the teaser trailer was released in January 2030. Gold said Rockwell's performance was intended to make the antagonist entertaining and persuasive without minimizing the danger created by selling the Atlas.

Quan and Harrison were announced in June 2030 as Agent D-27 and Needle. Their roles had been withheld from the earlier cast announcements because Agent D-27's disappearance and the origin of Derp's malfunctioning equipment were part of the film's opening mystery.

Principal voice recording began in March 2028. Menville, Slate, and Boyega recorded many scenes together, while Esposito and Rockwell completed most of their initial material separately.

Additional recording continued throughout 2029 as scenes were revised during animation. Final scheduled dialogue pickups were completed in November 2029.

Animation and design

The film uses the stylized computer-animation approach developed for the Minecraft Universe, retaining block-based characters, creatures, and environments while allowing expressive movement, clothing, facial animation, and mechanical effects.

Production designer Celia Ward developed a visual style inspired by espionage films, underground transport systems, redstone engineering, and the improvised architecture of trading settlements. Crossroads Market was designed as a densely populated settlement constructed vertically around minecart stations, warehouses, workshops, and underground routes.

The Obsidian Bureau is located inside a decommissioned stronghold beneath the settlement. Its offices combine carved stone corridors with concealed redstone doors, piston elevators, observation chambers, map rooms, testing areas, and minecart transport systems.

Bureau equipment includes retractable ladders, grappling mechanisms, redstone communication devices, potion-based disguises, concealed armor, throwable Ender Pearls, automated minecarts, observer cameras, and maps that update using signals received from connected relays.

Derp's equipment is assembled incorrectly after the Bureau assumes he has customized it. His grappling device pulls surrounding objects toward him, his communication helmet broadcasts instead of receiving messages, and his disguised armor changes nearby blocks without altering his appearance.

Cipher's designs use compact redstone components and portable code systems, while Flint carries simpler equipment intended to remain functional during combat. Director Obsidian's office is built around an enormous map displaying the Bureau's intelligence network.

The Broker's vehicles, clothing, and bases use machinery stolen from different organizations. His principal location is a moving auction platform assembled from connected minecarts traveling through an abandoned railway.

Principal animation began in October 2028. The first animated material included Derp's delivery route, his accidental entry into the Bureau, and the mountain minecart pursuit.

The film's action was designed around physical comedy and changing environments rather than military battles. Major sequences include the automated farm, the rotating mansion archive, and the collapse of the Broker's railway platform.

By July 2029, approximately 78 percent of principal animation had been completed. Work continued on crowd animation, Crossroads Market, and the final railway sequence.

Principal animation was completed in December 2029. Gold approved the completed picture edit on May 18, 2030, while final lighting, rendering, color work, visual effects, scoring, and sound mixing were completed in June.

Music

Weston Doyle composed the film's score after working on the previous Minecraft Universe films and television series. Gold wanted the music to distinguish the film from the survival themes of Minecraft: The First Night and the heavier dimensional music of Netherbound.

The score combines orchestral spy music, percussion created from redstone components, rapid woodwind passages, muted brass, and rhythms constructed from minecart wheels, pistons, pressure plates, dispensers, bells, and trapdoors.

Derp's theme frequently begins as an incomplete version of the Bureau motif before changing direction or being interrupted by other instruments. Doyle said the music gradually reveals that Derp's theme can resolve the principal spy motif in ways the arrangements associated with trained agents cannot.

Cipher's theme uses coded rhythms, while Flint's music is more direct and percussive. The Broker's theme rearranges the Bureau motif as a public performance, reflecting his belief that information has value when people compete to possess it.

Doyle began composing in June 2029. Recording commenced in November and concluded in May 2030. The soundtrack album was released digitally on August 9, 2030.

Marketing

The film was announced on October 27, 2026, when Mob Studios confirmed Gold, Goodwin, Brow, and Cross as its principal creative team. The initial title treatment displayed the words Agent Derp as though incorrectly stamped over a confidential Bureau document.

Menville's return was announced in December 2026 through an audio recording in which Derp repeatedly attempted to provide the correct security phrase before accidentally opening a concealed door.

Concept artwork shown during Mob Studios' July 2027 presentation depicted Derp standing inside a damaged office while Bureau employees incorrectly saluted him.

The supporting cast was announced in December 2027 alongside an image of encrypted personnel files. The characters Cipher, Flint, and Director Obsidian were revealed, while Rockwell's role remained concealed.

The first teaser poster and teaser trailer were released on January 17, 2030. The poster depicts Derp hanging upside down from a malfunctioning grappling device above Crossroads Market while Cipher and Flint pursue a minecart carrying the Wayfinder Atlas.

The poster used the tagline "THE WRONG AGENT. THE RIGHT DISASTER." The trailer revealed Rockwell as the Broker and showed Derp receiving malfunctioning equipment, entering the Bureau, and accidentally activating every minecart in the headquarters.

The first full trailer was released on May 24. It provided a broader look at the Wayfinder Atlas, the Obsidian Bureau, Crossroads Market, the automated farm, the woodland mansion, and the Broker's railway auction.

A theatrical poster released alongside the trailer depicted Derp standing in front of Cipher and Flint while fragments of the Atlas formed a map around them. Director Obsidian and the Broker appeared on opposing sides of the image.

The final trailer was released during Mob Studios' Minecraft Universe presentation on July 31. It focused on Derp's decision concerning the Atlas and revealed that Cipher and Flint would turn against Obsidian. The trailer withheld the public broadcast and the final railway collision.

The final theatrical poster used the tagline "SAVING THE WORLD WAS NOT IN THE DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS". Advance ticket sales began on July 31.

The promotional campaign included character posters, short Bureau training videos, a recreation of Crossroads Market within Minecraft, and cosmetic items based on Derp, Cipher, Flint, Director Obsidian, and the Broker.

Release

Agent Derp premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on August 9, 2030. Gold, Brow, Goodwin, Menville, Slate, Boyega, Esposito, Rockwell, Quan, Harrison, and Doyle attended the premiere.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on August 16 in standard, 3D, and selected premium large-format auditoriums. International releases began on August 14 in several markets.

It is the third theatrical film and sixth released production in the Minecraft Universe, following Villagers, Minecraft: The First Night, Redstone, Netherbound, and Deep Dark.

The film received a PG rating for animated action, peril, rude humor, and thematic material. Its runtime of 109 minutes was announced in June 2030.

Reception

Box office

Agent Derp grossed $286.4 million in the United States and Canada and $452.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $738.9 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside two smaller wide releases and was projected to gross between $90 million and $110 million from 4,208 theaters during its opening weekend. It earned $15.7 million from Thursday-night previews and $112.6 million during the weekend, finishing first at the box office.

The opening was lower than those of Minecraft: The First Night and Netherbound, but exceeded projections and became one of the largest domestic openings for an animated comedy film.

Internationally, the film earned $164.3 million from 71 markets, producing a worldwide opening of $276.9 million. Its largest opening territories included the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Germany, France, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea.

The film remained first in the United States and Canada during its second weekend with $52.4 million, declining by 53.5 percent. It crossed $500 million worldwide during its third week of release.

Its final domestic gross of $286.4 million was below those of the first two Minecraft Universe films, while its international gross of $452.5 million accounted for approximately 61 percent of its worldwide total.

Analysts attributed the film's performance to the strength of the Minecraft brand, positive family attendance, Menville's return, the film's shorter runtime, and its comedic marketing. Its lighter tone broadened its audience beyond viewers following the main "Broken Seed" storyline, although it received fewer repeat premium-format screenings than the previous films.

With a worldwide gross of $738.9 million against a budget of $135 million, the film was considered a commercial success. It became the third-highest-grossing Minecraft Universe film behind Minecraft: The First Night and Netherbound.

Critical response

Agent Derp received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 276 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus stated that the film's spy framework was familiar but that its "inventive physical comedy and unexpectedly thoughtful conflict over information ownership make Derp's return a successful delivery".

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100 based on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Critics praised Gold's direction, the animation, the physical construction of Derp's accidents, and the contrast between Menville, Slate, and Boyega's performances. Rockwell and Esposito also received positive notices for portraying antagonistic figures whose opposing arguments both contained legitimate criticism of the Bureau.

Menville's revised performance was frequently highlighted. Reviewers noted that the film retained the character's comedy while presenting Derp as quieter and more sympathetic than his MCCU counterpart. His delivery of understated responses during increasingly destructive situations received particular praise.

Samir Cole of Blockframe called the film "the first Minecraft Universe installment willing to let its world become completely ridiculous without treating the characters' choices as meaningless". He praised the railway finale and the decision to make Derp's improvisation essential rather than accidental luck.

Marissa Vale of CraftWire praised Cipher's storyline and the film's examination of surveillance, but considered the Obsidian Bureau's history underdeveloped. She also believed Obsidian faced insufficient consequences for withholding warnings from smaller settlements.

Elise Grant of Pixel & Picture described the automated farm and rotating archive as the film's strongest sequences. Grant praised Slate and Boyega's contrasting performances but felt the woodland-mansion section temporarily slowed the narrative.

The film's limited connection to "The Broken Seed" received a mixed response. Some critics appreciated a largely standalone installment after the mythology-heavy Netherbound, while others questioned why the film had been formally included in the chapter.

The mid-credits End portal signal was considered a restrained connection to The Ender Crown, though some reviewers believed the franchise reference was unnecessary.

Audience response

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. PostTrak reported an 89% positive score, with 75% of respondents saying they would definitely recommend the film.

Derp, Cipher, Flint, the malfunctioning spy equipment, the automated farm, and the final railway sequence received particularly strong audience responses. The film also performed well with viewers who had not seen the earlier Minecraft Universe television series or films.