Minecraft 2 director was already discussing Kirsten Dunst casting

A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess was "already talking" about casting Kirsten Dunst in the sequel when she publicly spoke about her desire to join the follow-up.

The Spider-Man actress revealed in an interview with Town & Country last year that she'd "really like to be in Minecraft 2" because her sons loved the 2025 video game adaptation and she'd like to be in a movie "where I don't lose money".

Months later, in March this year, Dunst officially joined the cast of the sequel, and she wrote on Instagram that her "dream came true".

Discussing her casting in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Jared Hess explained that he and his leading man Jack Black had already been talking about Dunst when her comments went viral.

"It is so funny and we joke about it," he said. "Jack and I were such big fans of Kirsten. I've always wanted to work with her, and Jack as well. So when she started to manifest... We'd seen that (from) her doing some press stuff. We were like, 'Holy cow! This is meant to be,' because we were already talking about her. So it was this weird convergence of love."

Dunst joins the sequel, A Minecraft Movie Squared, as the fan favourite character Alex. The character was teased in the first film's post-credits scene, with Kate McKinnon voicing and Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex.

She will star alongside returning cast members including Black as Steve, Jason Momoa as Garrett 'The Garbage Man' Garrison, Danielle Brooks as Dawn and Jennifer Coolidge as Marlene.

In addition, Matt Berry will portray an unknown new character after voicing Nitwit in the first outing.

Filming got underway in New Zealand in May, and Hess shared that Black and Dunst are "having so much fun in every scene" together.

"She's just eating it up. She's got two young boys that love Minecraft and I think spend a lot of time doing Minecraft LEGOs, as well," the director added. "It's some big mom points for Kirsten, and she's working it. She's trying to deliver for her boys, which is awesome."

A Minecraft Movie Squared will be released in cinemas in July 2027.