What is the 'Johnny' Easter egg in Minecraft?

Minecraft, like many games before it, has more than a few Easter eggs for attentive players to observe and enjoy, one of the more interesting being the "Johnny" Easter egg.

The Easter egg hearkens back to Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel "The Shining," which was released in 1980. In the film, Jack Torrance (portrayed by Jack Nicholson) breaks open a hotel door with a fire ax in an attempt to attack his wife and son.

As he breaks a hole in the door, he forces his face inside the hole and remarks, "Here's Johnny!" which, in fact, was an ad-libbed line by Nicholson referencing late-night talk show host Johnny Carson, who would be introduced onto the stage with the same phrase.

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Minecraft: What does the Johnny Easter egg do?

The Johnny Easter Egg can be observed via the application of a name tag to certain mobs (Image via Mojang)

If a player uses the likes of a spawn egg or name tag in Minecraft to name a vindicator or zoglin "Johnny," then the mob will attack just about any target that comes near it.

When applied to a vindicator, it will only be passive towards illagers and ghasts, attacking every other mob. Zoglins and vindicators were likely chosen specifically for the Johnny Easter Egg due to their use of axes, which Jack Torrance uses in The Shining's final act.

Minecraft players can also create a custom tag named "Johnny" and place it on a mob, and if they set the tag to 1B, then the Easter egg will also kick in.

Multiple namings of Johnny can even be used together, which can cause two "Johnny vindicators" to attack each other with their own axes. Somewhat circumventing the natural effect of the Easter egg that prevents the vindicator from attacking other illagers.

There are more than a few additional Easter eggs in Minecraft, with this reference to The Shining merely scratching the surface. However, using this particular Easter egg is capable of creating some interesting dynamics within the game.

One player even created their own version of an illager fight club by using the naming trick, and there are undoubtedly more ways to apply the Jack Torrance-referencing Easter egg to work.

Give it a spin yourself and see what can happen in your own Minecraft world.