Minecraft

We can see it.

The wildly popular video game comes to theaters soon — here’s what the movie version is about.

Minecraft, an open-space computer game in which players can build and create anything their heart can desire, has amassed a gigantic following among youngsters who use their imaginations to give birth to expansive worlds. Universally beloved among the world’s middle-schoolers, the game has spawned every merchandising tie-in under the sun, from pixelated foam swords to T-shirts with snappy slogans to lunch boxes. And now, the youth phenomenon will permeate the mainstream even further through a feature film adaptation. The project was announced in 2014, they landed a director in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney in 2015, and this year, they’ve made moves to lock down their first star.

Today in “extremely unlikely actors making their unlikely directorial debuts with unlikely projects,” we have It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator and star Rob McElhenney landing the Minecraft movie. If you are familiar with every element of that sentence then you know just how weird this news is.

The news in a nutshell: Warner Bros. is seeking a new director for their film adaptation of the beloved video game ‘Minecraft’ now that Shawn Levy has departed the project. Our commentary in a nutshell: Okay, that’s certainly news, but how the hell are they planning to make a ‘Minecraft’ movie in the first place?

Following the success of 'The LEGO Movie,' Warner Bros. picked up the rights to similarly adapt the wildly popular Minecraft video game for the big screen, and now it looks like they've found their master builder: director Shawn Levy, known for helming the 'Night at the Museum' franchise.

'Minecraft,' the hugely successful open world video game, is the latest "How do you turn that into a movie?" property to be optioned by Hollywood, as Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to turn the game into a big screen adventure.

The Minecraft skin parade will continue with a host of new characters straight from Marvel, including the Avengers and more.

Mojang has announced that Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition will be released tomorrow, prompting players to break blocks and build works of art.

Sony stole a bit more of Microsoft's indie game thunder at Gamescom this week, when it announced the PlayStation 4 would also be getting Mojang's hit Minecraft at launch.