The Legend of Zelda: Everything We Know About the Live-Action Movie

The Legend of Zelda live-action movie is in active development at Nintendo and Sony Pictures for a March 2027 release. It’s early days yet for the hotly anticipated feature film adaptation of the blockbuster video game franchise – which, after years of rumors, was officially announced in November 2023 – so here’s what we know for sure about the movie so far.

Who Is Making The Legend of Zelda Movie?

The film is being produced by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad, chairman of Arad Productions and former founder and CEO of Marvel Studios. Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle theatrical distribution in addition to co-financing the movie with Nintendo. Jurassic World’s Derek Connolly is writing the screenplay.

Wes Ball, who made the Maze Runner movies and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is directing Zelda. As if he was fated to land the job, Ball actually tweeted about wanting to make a Zelda movie way back in 2010.

At that time, Ball said he envisioned his Zelda as being another mo-cap endeavor like James Cameron’s Avatar. More recently, the filmmaker said he wants his Legend of Zelda to be “this awesome fantasy-adventure movie that isn’t like Lord of the Rings, it’s its own thing. I've always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that."

In a later interview, Ball backed off of his 2010 notion of making it a mo-cap movie. In May 2024, Ball said making an all mo-cap Zelda movie “probably isn't his choice” since he was just coming off of the CG-heavy KIngdom of the Planet of the Apes. Ball’s aim is to make Legend of Zelda feel "grounded" and "real." He added, “We're working hard, and we're gonna make something great."

Ball has also said: "I want to fulfil people's greatest desires. I know it's important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people, and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape. … [The film has] "to feel like something real. Something serious and cool but fun and whimsical."

A die hard Zelda fan who said he grew up on the franchise, Ball unintentionally stirred up other fans when he refused to tell IGN last year what his favorite Zelda game was.

Who Will Star in The Legend of Zelda?

No one has been cast yet but The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment expressed his desire to land a role in the Zelda movie when he appeared on IGN Arcade. Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer has expressed interest in playing Princess Zelda.

Euphoria star Hunter Schafer is a fan of the Nintendo series, saying, “I love the game, personally. I played it as a kid and I still play it now. Who knows! That would be pretty cool.” pic.twitter.com/lDNB1BkEqJ— IGN (@IGN) November 10, 2023

What Do Fans Think of Zelda Being a Live-Action Movie?

Fan reaction when the movie was officially announced back in November 2023 was swift and opinionated. Some took umbrage at Avi Arad – the former boss of Marvel Studios who also produced Ghost in the Shell and the early Spider-Man movies – being involved (“Can't believe they were able to get the producer of the hit film Morbius!!”). Others weren’t thrilled by the selection of Wes Ball to direct.

The decision to make the Legend of Zelda a live-action movie was met with trepidation: “People can say Zelda plot doesn't work in live action but action films have hardly ever relied on deep, complex plots to engage people.” “Animated would have been the way to go if you ask me.”

IGN editors also expressed their thoughts about why Zelda should be an animated movie instead of live-action. “And while hand-drawn art may be the best fit for a Zelda movie in my opinion, there are plenty of animation styles that would serve as a better vehicle for Zelda than live-action,” IGN’s Logan Plant wrote at the time the movie was announced.

“Think about all the gorgeous animated projects we’ve seen in the last several years: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Dragon Quest: Your Story, the Castlevania anime, or even a claymation look come to mind as visual styles that would perfectly suit the wonderful world of Hyrule. I can visualize what all these versions of Hyrule would look like, but I can’t say the same thing about live-action.”

“There are so many oddities in Zelda that come across as charming when animated, but could easily be seen as off-putting when done in live-action. This is a franchise where a literal enormous pig is the main villain, after all. But Zelda is also full of surprising horrors, from zombies that wrap their entire bodies around Link to try and kill him, to disembodied giant hands that swoop down from the ceiling. I have a hard time seeing a lot of Zelda enemies make it into a live-action movie without seriously frightening the little ones.”

IGN’s Matt Kim also opined at the time that it would be “a trap” if Nintendo and Ball tried to adapt Breath of the Wild for the silver screen: “If you’re going to make a Zelda movie, I’d adapt one of the games where the story is a bit more center-stage, whether it’s the pirate adventures of Wind Waker, the classic sword and sorcery of A Link to the Past, or arguably the most cinematic Zelda game of all-time, Twilight Princess.”

“Game devs have marveled at the power of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom’s engineering, calling the way its systems interact with each other near-magic. It’s not just showing audiences Link’s cool abilities but playing within an entire world, with its own laws of nature that just simply cannot be conveyed by looking at a screen alone. While there are plenty of fun moments a Breath of the Wild movie could include as fun easter eggs — like Link discovering he gets a stat bonus when he cooks during the blood moon for example — the game’s sense of discovery can never truly be captured on camera. … Breath of the Wild turns players into theoretical physicists, experimenting with how the interlocking rules of the game play off one another – which, unless the director plans on making a movie similar to Oppenheimer, would make for not a lousy Zelda movie.”

For their part, the filmmakers acknowledge the risk inherent in making a live-action Zelda movie. "Regarding the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, I know we face an extremely high hurdle in producing a film that will not disappoint the global fan base," Shigeru Miyamoto told Nintendo investors during a Q&A in November 2023. Miyamoto added that he had been developing the Zelda movie with Arad for ten years prior to the official announcement.

When Will the Legend of Zelda Be Released?

Sony Pictures will release The Legend of Zelda in theaters on March 26, 2027. In order to make that date, fans should expect filming to commence in 2026 or maybe even late this year to allow for enough post-production time to pull of the film’s visual effects.

Where Can I Watch the Legend of Zelda Movie Trailer?

There isn’t one as nothing has been filmed yet. However, IGN pranked the Internet on April Fool’s Day 2008 when we released a faux live-action Zelda movie trailer (which can be viewed below). Until there’s a real movie trailer to watch, ours will have to do:

Who do you think should play Link, Zelda and other key characters in the upcoming movie? Let us know in the comments.