Minecraft Movie's Funniest Moment Inspired by The NeverEnding Story

Minor spoilers ahead for A Minecraft Movie.

The creative minds behind A Minecraft Movie shared with IGN an amusing revelation: one of the film's most comedic scenes was inspired by The NeverEnding Story. In a particular sequence, Jack Black's character, Steve, finds himself in a precarious situation, needing to hitch a ride on Jason Momoa's Garrett due to a shortage of Elytra wings, which are only available for Garrett and Sebastian Hansen's Henry. This scene showcases a delightful display of physical comedy as Steve clings to Garrett to avoid a perilous fall. However, the inspiration behind this scene runs deeper than mere humor.

"It was so funny in between takes when they cut," added producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson. "Jack is sitting on top of Jason and they're in this complicated rig... and Jack starts singing, because he does that in between scenes, but he starts singing the words to The NeverEnding Story and riding him like he's riding Falkor."

This amusing reference is even more poignant because Jack Black previously played Slip in The NeverEnding Story 3. For Jason Momoa, this scene was a highlight, as he played a significant role in its development.

"I got to participate in writing that, and this big guy [Jack Black] wanted to do it too," Momoa shared with a laugh. "This was after Top Gun: Maverick came out, so I also wanted to be able to go into it and then hit the brakes and then have them slide down and I switcheroo on them. We were sitting there at the hotel dying about this idea of Jack and I doing this stunt and it made it [into the movie] and it's phenomenal."

"I don't know if it made it in the final cut because there were different versions of that scene, but it could have gone hard rated R," Jack Black noted. "In the end, I think we made it family-friendly!"

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20 ImagesMomoa also hilariously went into a recreation of the two of them on set (watch the video to see this firsthand!).

"Let my hips guide you! You can't just ride me like I'm majestic," Momoa said. "I was dying, man. I was dying."

For more insights, don't miss our A Minecraft Movie review, details on how the team utilized a private server during the film's production, and our comprehensive breakdown of the film's ending and post-credits scene.