Kirsten Dunst is heading to the Overworld. The Academy Award-nominated actress has officially confirmed she will be joining A Minecraft Movie 2 as Alex, Steve’s iconic counterpart from the Minecraft video games, and the backstory behind her casting is extremely entertaining.
Dunst announced the news on Instagram, sharing a photo of two on-set actors’ chairs bearing the names “Steve” and “Alex”, a nod to the game’s signature playable duo that fans will instantly recognise.
What makes the casting extra fun is that Dunst essentially pitched herself into the role. Back in 2025, she publicly expressed that she really wanted to be part of the sequel because her kids loved the first film, and that she’d like to “make a pile of cash.” She even joked, “Maybe I can just make a movie where I don’t lose money?” Her comments went viral, and it appears she may have simply manifested her way in (CinemaBlend)
Alex is one of the primary avatars available to players of the Minecraft video games from Mojang Studios on which the films are based. Steve and Alex are the game’s signature playable duo, and the sequel is finally putting both of them front and center, suggesting the film could lean harder into the game itself, with more Overworld exploration and more of the classic character dynamic that players know from the source material.
Dunst joins a stacked returning cast that includes Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Matt Berry, and Jennifer Coolidge, alongside Jack Black reprising his role as Steve (Deadline) Jared Hess returns to direct, co-writing the script with Chris Galletta.
The sequel has a lot to live up to. The original A Minecraft Movie was a global phenomenon in 2025, grossing $961.2 million worldwide and becoming the fifth-highest grossing film of the year. Many aspects of the film sparked huge reactions, none bigger than Black’s character Steve exclaiming “chicken jockey” at a critical point, a moment that went viral across the globe and forced theatres to do their best to curb the enthusiasm of more excitable attendees (ComicBookMovie)
A Minecraft Movie 2 is scheduled to hit theatres on July 23, 2027.
