Minecraft move: Shawn Levy in talks to direct

The rights to the popular building game were snapped up by Warner Bros earlier this year

Director Shawn Levy (Getty)

Shawn Levy is set to direct the Minecraft movie.

The Night at the Museum director is reportedly in talks with Warner Bros to take the helm of the film adaptation of the popular online building-block game, according to Deadline.

Created by Mojang AB founder Markus Persson, Minecraft was launched in 2009 for PC and can now be played on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox360, Xbox One or PSVita.

Warner Bros acquired the rights to the franchise in February and the move is being produced by Roy Lee, who worked on The Lego Movie and Jill Messick, who is known for Mean Girls.

46-year-old Levy, who is also known for the likes of Real Steel, The Internship and Date Night, recently finished directing Secret of the Tomb, which is the third instalment in the Night at the Museum trilogy.

Previous games to do well as movie adaptations include Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, and the Resident Evil series.