There’s a scene quite early on in A Minecraft Movie that, to the unaware, would completely pass you by. As Jack Black’s Steve introduces the newly arrived humans to his village, young teenager Henry sees a pig walk past wearing a crown. He asks, “Is he some kind of king?” And for those in the know, the blubbing begins.
If you’re a follower of Minecraft on YouTube, or the parent of one, you’ll inevitably have heard of Technoblade. The YouTuber, whose real name was Alexander, tragically died from cancer in 2022, aged only 22. A member of Dream SMP, which featured many of the biggest names in the field, Technoblade became known for his incredible skill at the game, and for a YouTube channel with 11 million subscribers.
Since his untimely death, Technoblade has been canonized by his contemporaries and followers, his name spoken with a lovely reverence. My own kid, only really getting into Minecraft YouTube since Technoblade’s passing, has learned this reverential tone and almost whispers his name. The point is, he was a great YouTuber, respected by his peers, and someone who actively fought against fame for the protection of his family. (His first name only became known after he died, and his last name is still unknown.) One of the many lines of text that can appear when you launch Minecraft reads “Technoblade never dies!”
So back to that scene in A Minecraft Movie. The bejeweled pig that Henry spots is a reference to Technoblade, whose in-game avatar was a bipedal pig wearing a crown (as seen in the image at the top of this article). The character asks, “Is he some kind of king?”
“No,” says Jack Black, before a long pause. Then with gravitas adds, “He’s a legend.”
You can see the moment in somewhat dubiously sourced footage in the following video:
Before the line had been delivered, just when the pig appeared on screen, all around me in the movie theater I heard kids going, “Technoblade!” with absolute delight in their voices. My son leant over to me and whispered with wide eyes, “That was Technoblade! That pig was Technoblade!” When he explained the reference to my wife in the parking lot as we left, and then solemnly delivered the “No, he’s a legend” line, she cried. She’d never even heard of him before, but the sincerity and touching nature of the tribute—it’s making me well up a bit as I type.
It turns out it’s only in the movie thanks to the kid playing Henry. According to an interview with director Jared Hess by Collider, Sebastian Hansen approached him during the film’s prep and said, “Look, there’s this amazing Minecraft player named Technoblade who passed away, and I would love to be able to honor him somehow in the film.” Hess says he spoke with the design team, and they worked it all out.
It’s fun to note there were many other easter eggs hidden in there for Minecraft diehards, like a Totem of Undying in Steve’s collection that would make the characters’ journey so much easier if only they knew what it was. And there was another theaterful of excited murmuring when Mojang’s Jens Bergensten appears as a silent waiter in a blink-or-miss-it moment. But of all the film’s fleeting nods to this or that, the tribute to Technoblade is the most special, and no doubt the one that will cause the most lips to quiver with emotion.
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