Think of Kirsten Dunst as the ultimate manifesto.
Last summer, the Oscar-nominated actress joked that she wanted to join the cast of the “Minecraft Movie” sequel because her kids loved the first movie and the pay wasn’t bad. “Why not just make a movie that doesn’t hurt?” she joked to Town & Country.
Now, back up your blink tracks, because Dunst has officially joined the cast of Warner Bros. and Legendary’s still-untitled “Minecraft” sequel.
“The Minecraft Movie,” headlined by Jack Black and Jason Momoa, dominated the spring 2025 box office. The PG adventure debuted with a record-breaking opening of $163 million domestically and has since grossed $424 million, bringing its total worldwide box office to nearly $1 billion. Daniel Brooks, Matt Berry and Jennifer Coolidge also starred in the movie based on the hit video game and are set to appear in the sequel.
Jared Hess returns as director and co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Galletta. Warner Bros. teased that plot details, including Dunst’s role, “remain deep in the mines” for now. The studio has set the sequel’s release date as July 23, 2027.
In Dunst’s case, she has always found a balance between auteur-driven films and popular entertainment, with a 40-title filmography ranging from collaborations with Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, Beguiled) to pop culture hits like Bring It On, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Jumanji, to superhero fare like Sam Raimi. “Spider-Man” trilogy.
Dunst recently appeared in Derek Cianfrance’s “The Roofman,” Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” and Jane Campion’s “Power of the Dog,” a performance that earned her her first Academy Award nomination. She will next be seen in director Ruben Östlund’s “Entertainment System is Down.” Upcoming releases include Alejandro Landes Echavarria’s Reptilia, co-starring Mikey Madison, and Flora Birnbaum’s feature debut Self Help, produced by Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell.
She is repped by Entertainment 360, UTA, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox, LLP.
Producers for the Minecraft sequel include Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Roy Lee, Eric McLeod, Kayleen Walters, Torfi Frans Olafsson, Momoa, and the late Jill Messick. Executive producers are Jay Ashenfelter, Jen Conroy, Brian Mendoza, Jon Berg, and Jonathan Speights.
Deadline first reported Dunst’s casting.
