Zelda has been one of Nintendo’s greatest game franchises alongside Mario. So, the announcement that there will be a Zelda game movie caused some excitement in 2023. The confirmation that the upcoming movie would be live action, rather than animated, also generated some surprise. Now, the big N has recently revealed the first images of the Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie.
Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s Creative Fellow, revealed the first images of the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie on the big N’s X page. There, Miyamoto says: “We have officially begun filming the live-action movie adaptation of ‘The Legend of Zelda’ in the magnificent great outdoors, together with Bo Bragason, who plays Zelda, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who plays Link. The filming is progressing smoothly, so I would appreciate it if you could quietly watch over us. The theatrical release is scheduled for May 7, 2027.”
The new images do not reveal anything not known about the casting before, as it had been confirmed earlier in 2025 that Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth will have lead roles in the Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie. What they show for the first time is some of the costume design for the Zelda movie. Link’s dark green tunic in the image is akin to the one from Twilight Princess. Zelda’s costume is comparable to her blue outfit from Breath of the Wild.
Miyamoto also added another post that says, “Filming is underway for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda in a lush, natural setting.” The images show some of the film’s natural landscapes for the first time. Those are landscapes from New Zealand, a country with some stunning scenery, with the movie being filmed in the capital, Wellington. The diverse landscapes of New Zealand are well-suited for the Zelda fantasy aesthetic. New Zealand was also a filming location for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.
What the images also show us is that Benjamin Evan is a pretty good Link lookalike when in costume, even though he is not a natural blonde. Both Link and Zelda in the movie look like reasonably faithful adaptations of their video game counterparts. The lush green, rolling hills of the landscapes in the images are reminiscent of the natural outdoor map settings from the Zelda games.
The rest of the casting for the Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie has yet to be revealed. Ganon, the primary antagonist of the Zelda game series, will surely be in the film. Who will play Ganon remains a secret, as we have yet to see any movie images revealing the actor.
The Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie will be the second live-action film based on one of the big N’s game franchises. Super Mario Bros was the first in 1993, and that film was a disaster that killed Nintendo’s interest in the movie business for decades. That was an expensive film to make, which grossed somewhat less than its production budget. It was also a rather messy and inconsistent movie adaptation of the Mario games.
Thus, Nintendo is well aware of the pitfalls of live-action movies based on video games. One notable difference for the Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie is that the big N is much more involved in its production than was the case for the 1993 Super Mario Bros debacle. The Zelda film is a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony Pictures (a somewhat surprising partner, perhaps). The Zelda creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, is also one of the directors for the film alongside Avi Arad (of Spider-Man fame). Wes Ball is directing the Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie.
So, it will be interesting to see if Nintendo can score a first live-action film hit with the Legend of Zelda movie. The animated Mario movie was a huge hit for Nintendo. Yet, live-action films are a slightly different kettle of fish. If the Zelda movie is a hit in 2027, it might pave the way for more live-action films from Nintendo in the future.
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