News
Live-Action Zelda Movie Begins Filming, Presents 3 Stills
posted on by Egan Loo
The Legend of Zelda game co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto announced on Tuesday that full-fledged filming has begun on the franchise's live-action film. He also presented three stills from the production of the lead actors Bo Bragason (Zelda) and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Link):
This is Miyamoto. Filming is underway for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda in a lush, natural setting, with Bo Bragason-san who will play Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san who will play Link (1/2). pic.twitter.com/fbadNgaDqY
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) November 17, 2025
Nintendo is financing over 50% of the production, and Sony is also co-financing. Maze Runner director Wes Ball is attached to helm the project. Franchise co-creator, Nintendo Representative Director, and Nintendo Fellow Shigeru Miyamoto is producing the film, along with Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc. Derek Connolly (Jurassic World) is writing the script. Sony will also be responsible for distribution.
Talks on producing a film adaptation for the franchise have emerged over the years, including a discussion between the Detective Pikachu film writers.
The idea of a live-action Legend of Zelda television series was teased by The Wall Street Journal in 2015 with plans to appear on Netflix, but Nintendo denied the accuracy of the report. Entertainment magazine and website The Wrap reported in 2019 that Adi Shankar was in talks to produce a Legend of Zelda television series however Shankar followed up on Instagram that he was producing an animated Devil May Cry series, which premiered on April 3.
The original announcement followed the successful 3D animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which opened in the U.S. and in over 60 markets worldwide in April 2023.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the first mainline game in the series that stars Zelda as the main playable character, as opposed to Link, launched for Nintendo Switch in September 2024. The top-down game features an artstyle similar to the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which shipped for Switch in September 2019.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch game debuted in May 2023. The sequel game was previously delayed from 2022 to spring 2023 in order to extend development time. Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for Switch and Nintendo Wii U in March 2017.
