About

Chicken Jockey refers to a quote in the 2025 film A Minecraft Movie in which actor Jack Black as Steve says, "Chicken jockey," announcing the arrival of a baby zombie riding on a chicken, which is
called a "chicken jockey" in Minecraft. The mob enters a boxing arena, set to battle actor Jason Momoa's character.

The Chicken Jockey scene was turned into a meme in late February and early March 2025, following the final trailer's release. Meme creators on TikTok, Twitter / X and YouTube reedited the scene, adjusting the speed and subverting the bluntness of the announcement. The quote was one of many from the Minecraft Movie that were heavily memed in 2025, such as Flint and Steel. When the movie was released in early April 2025, people recorded the reaction to the scene in theaters, showing everyone applauding and cheering when Steve said, "Chicken jockey."

Origin

On February 27th, 2025, the final trailer for A Minecraft Movie was shared to YouTube^[1] by Warner Bros., receiving over 21 million views in five days. At the trailer's 1:58-minute mark (shown below), Jason Momoa's character is in a boxing ring as a baby zombie is dropped onto a chicken, making Jack Black as Steve say, "Chicken jockey."

Spread

Images of the Chicken Jockey spread en masse on social media soon after, like in a tweet shared by the X^[2] account @DiscussingFilm on February 27th, 2025, that showed the screencaps, captioned, "First look at a Baby Zombie in the live-action 'MINECRAFT' movie," gaining over 29,000 likes in five days (shown below).

Memes using the Chicken Jockey soundbite surfaced en masse in the following days. For instance, on February 27th, X^[4] user @crazyrabbitreal posted a video of just Steve saying the line and the baby zombie falling from the air rapidly speeding up and then slowing down, gaining over 37,000 likes in five days (shown below).

pic.twitter.com/p5uOYrkhqL

— Avery!! #1 Glam Chica Fan (@crazyrabbitreal) February 28, 2025

On February 28th, 2025, TikToker^[3] @master_teo11 reposted the clip, adding a caption that read in all caps, "WE HAVE GOTTEN THE OFFICIAL REVEAL OF THE CHICKEN JOCKEY IN THE MINECRAFT MOVIE," gaining over 35,700 likes in four days (since deleted).

Also on February 28th, YouTuber^[8] Sharky_Productions shared a Chicken Jockey video that sped up the clip to an unintelligible level, gaining over 11,000 views in four days (shown below).

On March 1st, 2025, X^[5] user @theenderestman tweeted, "The Minecraft movie trailers but only when Jack Black says something from the game verbatim," attaching a compilation of clips in line with the caption. The video included the Chicken Jockey soundbite that inspired viral replies^[6] referencing it. The tweet received over 88,000 likes in three days (shown below).

the minecraft movie trailers but only when jack black says something from the game verbatim pic.twitter.com/JmEWpTMLZu

— Ender ✧ (comms open!!) (@theenderestman) March 2, 2025

On March 2nd, X^[7] user @nescartridges tweeted, "CHICKEN JOCKEY," receiving over 3,400 likes in two days (shown below).

Movie Theater Reactions

On April 3rd, 2025, X^[9] user @jab50yen predicted that people would scream and cheer during the Chicken Jockey scene, which featured a video of the moment (since disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner). The post received over 1.1 million views and 42,000 likes in four days.

On April 4th, TikToker^[10] @ickysnotbubble_ posted one of the earliest A Minecraft Movie audience reaction videos, showing the Chicken Jockey scene and people screaming as Jack Black's character Steve utters the line. The video amassed over 9 million plays and 2 million likes in three days (shown below).

A slew of similar videos surfaced on social media in the following days. For instance, on April 4th, 2025, X^[11] user @InsaneLoke tweeted a video taken from outside a theater's doors, captioned, "Happened to overhear a Chicken Jockey moment." The post gained over 2.5 million views and 45,000 likes in five days (shown below).

Happened to overhear a Chicken Jockey moment pic.twitter.com/TUvwMqrZRq

— Loke🌻 (@InsaneLoke) April 5, 2025

On April 3rd, X^[12] user @payingthe_piper tweeted the Yung Joc Crying GIF, captioning it, "The underpaid teenage cinema employee watching me yell 'CHICKEN JOCKEY' and release a wild chicken into the theater," gaining over 90,000 likes in six days (shown below).

Various Examples

I Am Steve

I Am Steve refers to a scene in A Minecraft Movie in which the camera zooms in on Jack Black's face and he announces, "I am Steve," revealing himself to be the protagonist of Minecraft named Steve. The scene appeared in the film's teaser trailer released in early September 2024 and quickly became the subject of reactions and memes online, including photoshops, edits and other memetic content, with some finding it to be corny and cringeworthy.

Flint And Steel

Flint and Steel refers to a catchphrase from one of the A Minecraft Movie trailers said by actor Jack Black's character Steve as he activates a nether portal by using the in-game item flint and steel. Starting in late February 2025, the clip of Jack Black saying, "Flint and steel," achieved virality as it was remixed and used in various memes, often together with other prevalent Minecraft movie brainrot memes such as Chicken Jockey.

The Nether

The Nether refers to an A Minecraft Movie quote in which actor Jack Black as Steve says, "The Nether," after stepping through a Nether Portal and seeing the in-game Minecraft realm for the first time. The scene was first shown in the film's final trailer. It sparked a series of brainrot edits and ViggleAI rotoscopes on TikTok, similar to others like Chicken Jockey and Flint and Steel.

Big Ol' Red Ones

Big Ol' Red Ones is a Minecraft Movie quote and catchphrase spoken by actor Jack Black as his character Steve in a scene from the film as he looks at a big red mushroom. The clip started going viral on social media in late March 2025 and purportedly comes from a trailer released on TikTok by the official @aminecraftmovie account that was seemingly deleted. The scene that appears in the trailer is different than the one in the theatrical cut of the film, which does not feature Steve looking at a red mushroom as he says the line. Like other quotes from the movie and its trailers, such as Flint and Steel and I Am Steve, the quote became the subject of edits and other memes online.

Search Interest

External References