Jared Hess reveals the secret of A Minecraft Movie's success and says making a sequel would be a "blast" (2025)

Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess is on top of the world after his latest feature, A Minecraft Movie, scored a $301M global debut at the box office this past weekend. The live-action animated hybrid is the smash hit of 2025, surpassing Grega Gerwig’s Barbie in its first few days of release. Like clockwork, Hess is already fielding questions about a Minecraft sequel. While his response is unsurprising, hearing someone so enthusiastic about making a movie that’s fun for the whole family is fantastic.

Speaking with Deadline, Hess commented on Minecraft debuting at the top of the charts and immediately becoming box office gold during its opening weekend, saying, “You just can’t plan for stuff like this. For me, it’s always just trying to make something that you’re passionate about, that’s funny to you, that you’re interested in. And to try to have that integrity as you’re making it. That’s the best you can hope for. You never ever know what’s going to happen with anything, and you just feel immense gratitude that it’s connecting.”

Hess told Deadline he started playing Minecraft alongside his kids. When the game first came out, he watched as his kids became overly excited about the world and everything it offers regarding action and imagination. He wanted to enjoy the fun, so it became their hobby.

The conversation naturally turned to whether Hess plans to create a Minecraft sequel after such tremendous success with the first. Does he have ideas? Would he want to be a part of the process? Sometimes, a one-and-done success is the answer, but Hess is game to stay in Minecraft for a little longer.

When asked if he’d consider making a sequel, Hess said, “Oh, man. Well, it would be so much fun. We had so much fun making this movie, and it’s such an expansive world in the game, and there were so many things that we didn’t tap into that we wanted to. I would have a blast doing the sequel, and it seems like there’s already talk about it happening, so I’m super excited. It’ll be so much fun to go back into the world. The fans are just having such a good time. We teased it in the end credits and the fans seem to be going wild for it.”

I haven’t seen A Minecraft Movie yet, but Hess is already laying the groundwork for the sequel. At the end of A Minecraft Movie, a pivotal Minecraft character, Alex, is teased. Minecraft revolves around Steve (Jack Black) and Alex, so it’s the natural step toward another adventure.

Should Jared Hess direct A Minecraft Movie sequel? Does all the hype around the Minecraft movie make you want to see it? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.