Garrett’s character is a former video game champion, but doesn’t know Minecraft.
Over the last few weeks Warner Bros. Pictures and Mojang have revealed a lot of new information about A Minecraft Movie. In the video game adaptation, Jason Momoa will play Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, one of several humans that find themselves pulled into the world of Minecraft. So far, information about the human cast has been pretty slim, but some new details were revealed over the weekend. During Minecraft Live 2024, Mojang creative director of entertainment Torfi Frans Olafsson discussed Momoa’s character, and how he acts as an entry point for the audience.
“Figuring out crafting was super fun. When the game came out, there wasn’t even like… there wasn’t a recipe book, and people were like ‘wait, what happens if I put these things like that?’ When Garrett’s character and these new characters come into the world, they don’t know the recipes, they don’t know what to do,” said Olafsson.
Following those comments, A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess chimed in, noting that Garrett was a “world championship video gamer in the late 1980s and he kind of peaked then. He’s still stuck in the past, he’s got a little bit of arrested development. He’s holding on to that former glory.” It will be interesting to see if this leads to additional video game references in the film, and which ones Garrett might be skilled at. However, when it comes to Minecraft, Hess notes that “Garrett’s the noob.” We’ve already gotten a glimpse at Garrett’s lack of experience with a clip that showed him attempting to use a crafting table, with mixed results!
Outsider characters like Garrett are important in movies like this, because it gives the audience an opportunity to learn the intricacies of that world. If they aren’t familiar with the source material, the audience gets to learn alongside the character. Garrett’s existence shows that the filmmakers are looking for ways to make A Minecraft Movie enjoyable for both newcomers as well as those deeply familiar with Minecraft. Considering how many parents unfamiliar with the game will probably end up taking their kids, this is definitely a good thing!
A Minecraft Movie will be released in theaters on April 4th.
Are you planning to check out A Minecraft Movie? What do you think of the human cast so far? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!