Recently, everyone’s attention has been driven away by rumors of the “Super Mario Galaxy” movie. As a result, in Nintendo’s CinemaCon 2026 update, Sony officially confirmed that the filming of the “Legend of Zelda” live-action movie has been completed. In other words, this project is no longer a piece of public news like “in meeting, preparing, and checking again”. Instead, the main filming has been completed and the post-production process has begun. For players who have been trained to PTSD by various adapted messages for many years, at least they finally see a clear milestone this time.
From “already in production” to officially completed, filming in New Zealand
In fact, this film has been confirmed to have entered the production stage in New Zealand in November 2025. Now the official announcement that “production has been completed” is a big step forward. According to existing information, the film is currently scheduled to be released globally on May 7, 2027, with funds jointly invested by Nintendo and Sony; Nintendo’s representative is still Shigeru Miyamoto, the production partner is Avi Arad, and the director is Wes Ball, who filmed “Maze Runner”. To put it bluntly, this is not an authorization to go out and play casually, but Nintendo is keeping an eye on it, making it clear that it wants to take control of the brand.
The actors of Link and Princess Zelda have been revealed and will be exclusively streamed by Netflix after the theatrical release
Although the official trailer has not yet been released, it has been previously revealed that Link will be played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Princess Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason. Sporadic footage from the set also leaked last year. What is more noteworthy is the distribution path: it will first go to theaters and home distribution windows, and then it will be exclusively launched on Netflix. This strategy is very realistic. Earn box office and licensing first, and then eat the long tail of streaming. Don’t let go of either side. There is only one point for the audience: you may not rush to the theaters in the first week, but you will eventually be caught up by the platform promotion.
The real test begins now: completion of filming does not mean a guaranteed win, post-production and the implementation of the world view are the line between life and death.
The biggest fear of live-action game movies has always been “whether it looks like or is embarrassing after filming.” Once the quality of the world view of Hyrule drops, the audience will immediately become distraught; as long as the character creation cannot capture the Nintendo-style sense of restraint, it can easily become a high-cost cosplay. Now that the work is over, the next step is the tough battle of special effects, rhythm, soundtrack and character chemistry. Fans can keep their expectations in reserve, but don’t rush to be a god yet. Wait until the first official trailer comes out before deciding whether to schedule the premiere in advance.