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Deadline: Live-Action Zelda Film Casts Sam Neill, Dichen Lachman, Yvonne Strahovski, Uli Latukefu
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Entertainment news website Deadline reported new cast members for the live-action The Legend of Zeldafilm on August 6 according to its sources, which include the late Sam Neill (the project reportedly concluded filming in April, prior to his death on July 13), Dichen Lachman as Impa, and Yvonne Strahovski as a "queen character." Deadline also reported earlier on the same day that sources have told the website that Uli Latukefu will play Ganondorf. The website did not list its sources nor confirm if all the cast reports came from the same sources.
The film will open on April 30, 2027, a week earlier from its previously planned May 7, 2027 opening date. That opening date was itself a delay from the film's original March 26, 2027 opening date.
Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth star as Zelda and Link, respectively.
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.
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 in April 2025. Talks on producing a film adaptation for the franchise have emerged over the years, including a discussion between the Detective Pikachu film writers.
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.
