The Legend of Zelda has quite a bit to live up to. Nearly forty years after the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda first made its way out into the world, a live-action film adaptation is now in the works, with Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball at the helm. Shigeru Miyamoto, producer and game director at Nintendo (and co-creator of The Legend of Zelda), took to social media to announce that the film’s release is getting moved back to May 7, 2027.
Then, a few months ago, Miyamoto once again broke news on social media as he announced the casting for both Zelda and Link, along with screen test shots of Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in their respective roles. Now, Variety reports that three new first-look images from the film have been unveiled through the Nintendo Today app from Sony and Nintendo. You can check them out below!
Bragason is an English actress whose credits include the BBC One series Three Girls and The Jetty, as well as Disney+’s Renegade Nell. Last year, she could also be seen in Euros Lyn’s vampire comedy film The Radleys. Ainsworth is also an English actor. He voiced Pinocchio for Robert Zemeckis‘ live-action Disney remake. Plus, Ainsworth portrayed Miles in the Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor. He also stars in the Canadian comedy series Son of a Critch and has appeared in an episode of Netflix’s The Sandman.
Since the official word broke that Nintendo is pursuing a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, Maze Runner director Wes Ball, who will be overseeing Hyrule, has said he wants The Legend of Zelda to feel like a live-action Miyazaki film, which is likely to please dedicated fans of the Nintendo property. Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron, Princess Mononoke) is the legend who co-founded Studio Ghibli and is often called the “Godfather of Anime.” Ball says his vision for The Legend of Zelda is “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.”
