The Legend of Zelda will be the next major Nintendo series to get the movie adaptation treatment after Mario, with a film set in Hyrule hitting theaters in 2027. We still don’t know much about the ambitious attempt to transition the series from video games to the big screen, but where the movie is currently being filmed gives us a solid impression of how its backdrop might look.
Nintendo Is Filming Scenes For The Zelda Movie In Iconic Lord Of The Rings Locations
Filming for the upcoming Zelda movie has been taking place in Otago, and more specifically, Glenorchy, according to CBR. Little-known place names in New Zealand to most, while hardcore fans of The Lord of the Rings will recognize them as places where iconic scenes from Peter Jackson’s trilogy took place.
Some specific shooting locations for the Zelda movie don’t necessarily narrow down which era of the series Nintendo might be pulling from for the adaptation. It is a positive sign that Sony – yes, PlayStation’s parent company is working on this film with Nintendo – is not only filming on location for this project, but using backdrops that are synonymous with making fantastical worlds feel real.
While others have used New Zealand’s lush landscapes to film fantasy projects, none have done it quite as famously as Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings. The country, and the locations in which the Zelda movie is currently filming, have become so intrinsically linked to the iconic Tolkien trilogy that New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has a page dedicated to where various scenes from the movie took place.
Perhaps The Legend of Zelda will have a page of its own one day if it’s good enough to leave the kind of mark on pop culture that the LOTR movies have.
When The Zelda Move Will Be Here, Its Actors, And The Games It Might Pull Inspiration From
If all goes to plan, the Zelda movie will be in theaters this time next year. Currently slated to release in March 2027 – the same month as Sonic 4 – all we really know about it right now is who will be playing the roles of Link and Zelda.
Sony and Nintendo have opted for two relatively unknown actors to portray the live-action versions of its iconic characters. Benjamin Ainsworth is playing Link, and Bo Bragason will be Zelda. Clearly, Nintendo doesn’t want fans having any preconceptions about the actors, which is exactly what a lot of people did when they discovered Wes Ball (The Maze Runner, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) is directing.
We don’t even know if Ainsworth’s Link will speak. A typically silent protagonist, while traditional fans will want that to be true of movie Link, it would feel a little odd for the lead character not to speak for the whole movie. As for what games we can expect Nintendo to pull from, rumors that Ocarina of Time might be getting a remake this year suggest that could be the game the film’s creators turn to for the most inspiration.
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
- Director
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Wes Ball
- Writers
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Derek Connolly
- Producers
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Shigeru Miyamoto, Avi Arad
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Benjamin Evan Ainsworth
Link
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Bo Bragason
Princess Zelda
