Jesse Plemons has joked that he has given up trying to compete with his wife, Kirsten Dunst, after she landed a role in the upcoming Minecraft sequel.
Plemons discussed Dunst's casting during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, where he was asked about his wife's unexpected move into the video-game franchise. Dunst will play Alex in A Minecraft Movie Squared, the officially titled sequel to the 2025 blockbuster.
'The Coolest Mom'
'I just have to give up trying to compete with Kirsten,' Plemons said, according to reporting published after the couple's appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of Digger. He added that Dunst had 'kind of manifested it' and was now 'the coolest mom on the planet.'
Dunst's casting has a particularly direct connection to comments she made about the franchise before securing the role. In August 2025, the actress told Town & Country that she wanted to appear in Minecraft 2, partly because her two sons enjoyed the first film.
Dunst also joked about the financial appeal of joining a major franchise. 'Maybe I can just make a movie where I don't lose money?' she said at the time.
A Role in 'Minecraft 2'
Her comments became relevant several months later when she was officially cast as Alex. The sequel's production team had already considered Dunst for the part, according to director Jared Hess, who told Entertainment Weekly that he and Jack Black were fans of the actress before her comments about wanting to join the franchise circulated.
'It is so funny and we joke about it,' Hess said of Dunst's comments. He explained that Black and Hess had wanted to work with her, describing her public interest in the film as part of the circumstances that brought the casting together.
The sequel is now officially titled A Minecraft Movie Squared. Warner Bros and Mojang announced the title in May 2026, alongside a first look at Dunst as Alex. Production began in New Zealand, with Jared Hess returning as director.
Who is Dunst Playing?
Dunst's character, Alex, is one of the default player avatars in the Minecraft video game. She joins returning stars Jack Black as Steve, Jason Momoa as Garrett and Danielle Brooks as Dawn. Matt Berry is also among the returning cast.
Dunst confirmed that filming had started in May by sharing a photograph of two directors' chairs bearing the names Alex and Steve. The image provided an early sign of her character's role in the sequel.
The first A Minecraft Movie became one of 2025's biggest cinema releases, earning nearly $1 billion (£756 million) worldwide. It opened in the United States and Canada with approximately $163 million (£123 million), setting a record for the biggest opening weekend for a video-game adaptation at the time.
Upcoming Sequel
The sequel is scheduled for a cinema release on 23 July 2027. Its official title, A Minecraft Movie Squared, was unveiled during Minecraft Live, with footage from the production also shown to audiences.
Plemons and Dunst have been married since 2022 and share two sons. The pair first worked together on the second season of Fargo in 2015 and later appeared together in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, for which both received Academy Award nominations. Their professional relationship has continued alongside their family life.
Plemons has also appeared in major films including Killers of the Flower Moon, The Power of the Dog and Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia. His recent projects have kept him active in both independent and larger productions.
Dunst, meanwhile, has continued to balance mainstream projects with independent films. Her recent credits include Civil War, The Power of the Dog and Roofman. She is also attached to upcoming projects including The Housemaid's Secret and Reptilia.
For Plemons, however, Dunst's Minecraft casting has created a different kind of professional competition at home. His comments were framed as a joke, with the actor acknowledging that his wife had secured a role in one of the most commercially successful film franchises to emerge from a video game.
