Minecraft season 1
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| Minecraft | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring |
|
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Original release | June 10, 2022 |
| 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 Stonecutter, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, and James Earl Jones. The series was officially announced in June 2017 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 2022 with the characters exploring the Overworld and Nether dimensions.
The first season premiered on Netflix, Disney+, Max, and Paramount+ on June 10, 2022. It recieved positive reviews, with praise for the cast's performances. The series was renewed for a second season in November 2022. Zendaya departed the series shortly after, which Amy Poehler replaces Zendaya in the role of Alex Stonecutter for future acts in television shows.
Episodes
See also: List of Minecraft episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Part I" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin & Jackson Greene | June 10, 2022 |
| 2 | 2 | "Part II" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin & Jackson Greene | June 10, 2022 |
| 3 | 3 | "Part III" | Jackson Greene | Jackson Greene | June 10, 2022 |
| 4 | 4 | "Part IV" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2022 |
| 5 | 5 | "Part V" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2022 |
| 6 | 6 | "Part VI" | Jackson Greene | Jackson Greene | June 10, 2022 |
| 7 | 7 | "Part VII – Agent Derp" | Jackson Greene | Jackson Greene & Wilma Zimmerman | June 10, 2022 |
| 8 | 8 | "Part VIII" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2022 |
| 9 | 9 | "Part IX" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin & Jackson Greene | June 10, 2022 |
| 10 | 10 | "Part X" | Freddie Goodwin | Freddie Goodwin | June 10, 2022 |
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 recieved offers from Hollywood producers who wanted to prod Minecraft-related TV shows; however, Mojang stated they would only engage in such projects when "the right idea comes along." Two years later, in February 2014, an attempt to crowdfund a fan film through Kickstarter was shut down after Markus 'Notch' Persson declined to let the filmmakers use the license, the given reason being that the Kickstarter was set up before any agreement with Mojang had been made. That same month, Persson revealed that Mojang was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop an official Minecraft film to be produced by Roy Lee and Jill Messick. In October 2014, Mojang COO Vu Bui stated that the movie was "in its early days of development", saying that it was a "large-budget" production, and also said that it might not be released until 2018. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, while in December, it was confirmed that Levy and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together had left the project. By 2016, the film plans were cancelled and turned into a plan to make a television series adaption with Freddie Goodwin set to lead production.
In September 2017, after the huge growth in Black Plasma Studios (currently Squared Media) content, Goodwin worked with Warner Bros. Pictures and the leader of Black Plasma Studios to create a television series based on the content they made, like how multiple DC television series' adapted content from the comics, Goodwin planned to adapt storylines from the animations to the project. Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided Goodwin with a US$300 million budget. In 2019, early production started on the series, including in June assigning a release date of June 10, 2022. In October 2019, Goodwin announced the writer team being himself and Jackson Greene, with Wilma Zimmerman set to write the seventh episode alongside him.
By 2020, production on the series had been "slowed down greatly" but never was stopped, due to the work being done at home from the beginning.
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
Goodwin announced plans to cast well known actors for the lead roles. In March 2018, Jack Black was cast as Steve Stonecutter. A month following in April, Zendaya was cast as Alex Stonecutter and Tom Holland was cast as Derp. Herobrine was announced to be appearing within the series. In June 2018, James Earl Jones was cast as Herobrine. By December 2018, Jason Momoa joined the project as Jackster and 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.
Photorealistic animation
The first season was developed entirely in Unreal Engine 4 and used Photorealistic animation technology.
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, 2022 on Netflix. The season released in its entirety on Apple+ and Paramount+ on September 10, 2022.
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".