Nintendo's Live-Action Legend of Zelda Movie is Now Shooting in New Zealand

Filming has reportedly begun connected Nintendo's live-action The Legend of Zelda movie, with shooting acceptable to instrumentality spot successful New Zealand until April adjacent year.

A accumulation listing filed by manufacture assets the Film & Television Industry Alliance (FTIA) has updated this week to bespeak the project's existent "in production" status.

Filming is listed arsenic being based successful Wellington, New Zealand, and fans are already hoping the determination volition springiness Nintendo's phantasy escapade the aforesaid benignant of backdrops seen successful Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Details of the task stay mostly under-wraps, different than Nintendo's announcement backmost successful July that young actors Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth volition play Zelda and Link. A basal crippled outline has besides been shared, which describes the movie thus:

"The Legend of Zelda follows Link, a young warrior destined to support the magical kingdom of Hyrule from the forces of darkness. The onshore is nether menace from Ganon, a ruthless warlord who seeks the Triforce — an past relic said to assistance limitless power. To halt him, Link indispensable embark connected a perilous journey, battling monstrous creatures, exploring treacherous dungeons, and solving intricate puzzles to uncover ineffable artifacts that tin assistance him successful his quest."

Officially announced successful November 2023, Nintendo's live-action The Legend of Zelda task is being produced by the company's legendary originative brag Shigeru Miyamoto, alongside Avi Arad, erstwhile CEO of Marvel Studios.

Bo Bragason. Image credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images.

Sony Pictures Entertainment volition grip organisation successful summation to co-financing the movie with Nintendo. Jurassic World’s Derek Connolly is penning the screenplay, portion Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' Wes Ball volition direct.

Discussing the movie successful May 2024, manager Wes Ball said the imaginable of making an each mo-cap Zelda movie “probably isn't his choice” aft completing enactment connected the greenish screen-heavy Apes franchise. Instead, Ball said, The Legend of Zelda should consciousness "grounded" and "real" — thing that New Zealand's backdrop volition hopefully provide.

"I privation to fulfill people's top desires," Ball said successful different interrogation astir the project. "I cognize it's important, this franchise, to people, and I privation it to beryllium a superior movie. A existent movie that tin springiness radical an escape… [It has] to consciousness similar thing real. Something superior and chill but amusive and whimsical."

The Legend of Zelda is presently acceptable to motorboat connected May 7, 2027, a day shared again by Nintendo this week arsenic it teased plans for a "consistent merchandise cadence" of video crippled movies implicit the adjacent fewer years, pursuing the container bureau occurrence of its Super Mario Movie.

Here's hoping that the commencement of filming volition awesome much quality successful the adjacent future, including details of further actors joining the movie's cast. Fans are already hotly debating who mightiness represent Ganon, with galore hoping that Minecraft and Mario movie prima Jack Black volition instrumentality connected the role.

Image credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social