The Minecraft movie has a new director, and it’s an unlikely pick. Mojang officially announced on its site that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator/writer/director/star Rob McElhenney has been tapped to take the helm of the video game adaptation, which is set up at Warner Bros. In the game, the player builds whatever they want using pixelated cubes, and can choose between a survival mode where they protect it from nocturnal monsters, or the player can go with a passive mode where they can build to their heart's content without any risk of destruction. It’s a completely open foundation off of which to craft a feature film, and McElhenney is apparently the guy to do it.
The It’s Always Sunny alum made headlines last winter when it was announced that Legendary acquired his pitch to write and direct a family action film called Figment, which he presented with a passionate four-minute test reel. Clearly the guy is game to make the jump to features, and adding Minecraft to the pile gives him a pretty formidable slate from which to work.
It’s unclear if McElhenney will first focus on Figment or if Minecraft will now become his priority. Warner Bros. no doubt wants to get this thing moving after years of development (Shawn Levy was attached to direct last year), and officially hiring McElhenney is a major step towards production. In addition to movies, though, McElhenney continues his duties on FXX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which recently completed its tenth season and has already been renewed for an eleventh and twelfth.
