The live-action The Legend of Zelda movie recently commenced production in New Zealand, and following some video leaks from the set, Nintendo (via GameFragger.com) has unveiled our first official look at the film's leads in-costume.
The stills spotlight Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth suited-up as their respective characters, Princess Zelda and Link. The characters are together in a glade, with the Zelda sporting her signature blue tunic and a quiver of arrows, and link is dressed in green (though there's no sign of his hat or the Master Sword).
Bragason has previously appeared in the likes of Three Girls, The Jetty, Renegade Nell, and recent vampire comedy The Radleys. Ainsworth provided the voice of Pinocchio in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action movie, and also had a key role in Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor.
The set shots also revealed an actress who looked a lot like Severance star Dichen Lachman (we're pretty sure it's her, but this is yet to be confirmed), who fans believe has been cast as Zelda's bodyguard and mentor, Impa.
Miyamoto took to Nintendo’s official X/Twitter account to confirm that the project was in development back in 2023.
“This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films. I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
The movie will be helmed by Wes Ball, who directed The Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Derek Connolly (Jurassic World) penned the script.
Ball actually sent out the following Tweet back in 2010.
For the uninitiated, the series is set in the fictional land of Hyrule, and tell the story of an adventurer named Link (who looks a lot like an Elf but is actually a member of the Hylian race) as he attempts to rescue Princess Zelda from the clutches of the evil wizard, Ganon.
The games have spawned everything from comics, to toys, to a short lives animated series, and Zelda is one of the most popular, revered properties out there.
There have been several earlier attempts to adapt the property, and back in 2018, we heard that a live-action series from Castlevania's Adi Shankar was in the works for Netflix, but the project has evidently fallen by the wayside.