**Minor spoilers ahead for A Minecraft Movie.**
The creative minds behind A Minecraft Movie shared an intriguing tidbit with IGN, revealing that one of the film's most humorous scenes drew inspiration from the iconic film, The NeverEnding Story. In a particularly memorable moment, Jack Black's character, Steve, finds himself in a precarious situation, forced to ride atop Jason Momoa's Garrett due to a shortage of Elytra wings, which were only available for Garrett and Sebastian Hansen's character, Henry. This scene showcases not just physical comedy but a deeper nod to cinematic history.
"We definitely wanted a Falkor moment from The Neverending Story that was both majestic and beautiful, but also one that goes south pretty quickly," explained A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess.
Producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson added, "It was so funny in between takes when they cut. 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 scene is a delightful callback, especially since Jack Black previously portrayed Slip in The NeverEnding Story 3. For Jason Momoa, who played a crucial role in bringing this scene to life, it was a chance to blend creativity and humor.
"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."
Jack Black reflected on the scene's evolution, noting, "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. In the end, I think we made it family-friendly!"
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Momoa also humorously recreated the dynamic between him and Jack Black on set, as seen in the accompanying video.
"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, be sure to check out our comprehensive A Minecraft Movie review, learn about the private server the team used during production, and dive into our detailed explanation of the film's ending and post-credits scene.
