Minecraft season 1
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| Minecraft | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring |
|
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Original release | June 10, 2023 |
| Season chronology | |
The first season of the American television series Minecraft, based on Marvel Comics featuring the video game of the same name, sees Steve and his best friend Alex facing off against the former's evil doppelgänger Herobrine. It is produced by Mob Productions, Mojang and Warner Bros. Pictures, and is seperate from the films of the franchise. Freddie Goodwin and Jackson Greene serves as showrunner/headwriter of the season.
The season stars Jack Black as Steve, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, and James Earl Jones. The series was officially announced in June 2016 through a public announcement video from Mob Productions. Development of the first season began in March 2021 and concluded in June 2021. The series takes place in 2023 with the characters exploring the Overworld and Nether dimensions. The End dimension is also seen.
The first season premiered on Netflix, Disney+, Max, and Paramount+ on June 10, 2023. It recieved positive reviews, with praise for the cast's performances. The series was renewed for a second season in July 2023, which was cancelled in March 2024. Amy Poehler replaces Zendaya in the role of Alex for future acts in television shows.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Part I" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin & Jackson Greene | June 10, 2023 | 101 | 1.67 |
| 2 | 2 | "Part II" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin & Jackson Greene | June 10, 2023 | 102 | 1.65 |
| 3 | 3 | "Part III" | Jackson Greene | Jackson Greene | June 10, 2023 | 103 | 1.58 |
| 4 | 4 | "Part IV" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2023 | 104 | 1.48 |
| 5 | 5 | "Part V" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2023 | 105 | 1.62 |
| 6 | 6 | "Part VI" | Jackson Greene | Jackson Greene | June 10, 2023 | 106 | 1.70 |
| 7 | 7 | "Part VII – Agent Derp" | Jackson Greene | Jackson Greene & Wilma Zimmerman | June 10, 2023 | 107 | 1.92 |
| 8 | 8 | "Part VIII" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2023 | 108 | 2.01 |
| 9 | 9 | "Part IX" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin & Jackson Greene | June 10, 2023 | 109 | 2.12 |
| 10 | 10 | "Part X" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2023 | 110 | 2.27 |
Cast and characters
- Jack Black as Steve
- Zendaya as Alex
- Tom Holland as Derp
- Jason Momoa as Jackster
- James Earl Jones as Herobrine
- Danielle Brooks as Nova
Josh Brolin as the Angel of Death (AOD). Other voices include Dylan Buccieri, Assaf Cohen, Jessica DiCicco, Terri Douglas, Karen Huie, Arif S. Kinchen, Austin Madison, Cole Massie, Alisha Mullally, Fred Tatasciore, Kari Wahlgren, and Secunda Wood in undisclosed roles.
Production
Development
In 2012, Mojang received offers from Hollywood producers who wanted to produce Minecraft-related TV shows; however, Mojang stated they would only engage in such projects when "the right idea comes along." In July 2013, Freddie Goodwin began developing a animated television series that would explore the story that fans created between Steve and Alex. Goodwin explained he took inspiration from Squared Media when writing the scripts and stated multiple villains would appear in the season, but only one would be the "big one" that would cause chaos in the season. Goodwin wrote most of the episodes alongside Greene. The episodes were all directed by Goodwin. He expressed interest in making a second season if the cast would want it and that the first season recieves positive reviews and reception from fans.
Writing
A writer's room for the series had been formed in 2017 by the time development of the series was announced in 2020. In addition to Goodwin and Greene, writers for the series, announced as the Producers of the season. In November 2021, it was confirmed that the team would adapt storylines from Squared Media productions.
Goodwin expressed interest in doing more than one season and stated the first season would tell "one of many stories". According to both Goodwin and Greene, the season is like the MCU, the team looked at multiple storylines from Squared Media, and took some characters and focused on that. Goodwin confirmed the story would be part "Animation Life 1–3" and potentially other storylines from the Comics.
Production for the first episode was "tricky" according to Goodwin, because the first episode had no real purpose in the story except for opening up the start of the storyline for the first season and a potential second. Goodwin and Greene decided to focus entirely on the heroes and end the first episode on a cliffhanger hinting at Herobrine – who in episode four – would be revealed to be a duplicate of Steve. As the season progresses, so will the universe, with episode seven, Greene explored a series titled Agent Derp, that focuses on Derp. The episode isn't what you'd expect but will feel like a traditional episode, like the first six episodes, though he confirmed the other series [Agent Derp] would focus more and mainly on comedy aspects.
Casting
Mob Productions plan for the series was to have two actors star the series for the two lead roles. However, they decided to take a more traditional approach with set actors for set characters throughout the seasons. During this time, Jack Black was cast to play Steve and Zendaya joined as Alex. Tom Holland joined the project as Derp in 2021. In 2024, Zendaya announced that she has left the project feeling she only wanted to do a single season. Mob Productions announced that the character would be recasted. In June 2024, it was confirmed that Amy Poehler would voice Alex in future seasons.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was approached to voice a undisclosed role in the season. In June 2022, it was announced Morgan would portray a character in a future project.
The studio approached Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who accepted a role within the first season, however his scenes were all cut due to time constraints. In November 2023, it was announced he will appear in the second season.
Photorealistic animation
Unlike other animation, Goodwin wanted to use photorealistic animation for Minecraft. They kept the 3D dimension blocked shapes of the game to keep the feeling of the game theme. However, they weren't strict on what they can add and do within the universe.
Music
In order to keep the theme and music for the series as close to the video game, Goodwin approached C418, Lena Raine, Kumi Tanioka, and Aaron Cherof to make the score for the series.
Marketing
Minecraft was announced in 2020 alongside a possible second season with Squared Media sharing their plans for their YouTube channel animations.
The first trailer for the first season was released on March 15, 2022. Many commentators noted the heavy focus on Steve, Alex, and Derp to being a heavy focus on Steve and Alex. Linda Codega at Gizmodo said the trailer was "as adorable, fun, and exciting as the animations of absolutely excellent directorial decisions" and that the series looked like "a tone-perfect mashup of animations and storytelling".
Release
Minecraft was released simultaneously on June 10, 2023 on Disney+ and Max. Minecraft later was released on Netflix and Paramount+ in November 2023. The first season consisted of 10 episodes. A second season is planned to be released on January 10, 2025, after being revealed in 2024.
Reception
Audience viewership
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating, with an average score of 8.90/10, based on 1202 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Minecraft is a show that explores stories that have been made by fans for the fans." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 99 out of 100 based on 1002 critics, indicating "positive reviews".