Nintendo Names Zelda Movie 'The Legend of Zelda,' Out April 30, 2027

Nintendo revealed the official title and the first logo for its live-action "The Legend of Zelda" film at the series' 40th Anniversary Nintendo Direct on September 8, 2026. The title carries no subtitle. In the logo shown during the presentation, the film's name sits in metallic lettering over a golden Triforce, the triangular artifact the games revolve around. Nintendo says the film opens in theaters worldwide on April 30, 2027.

The reveal closed a broadcast built around the franchise's 40th anniversary, which also dated a Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time for November 5, 2026. It was the first concrete look at the movie since Nintendo announced the project on November 8, 2023. According to Game Informer's coverage of the Direct, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto said the missing subtitle is deliberate and that the reason will make sense once audiences see the film; on the Triforce, he asked what role viewers thought it would play and said Nintendo would share more details later. Nintendo describes the movie not as an adaptation of a single game but as a film based on "the stories, ideas and concepts" built up through 40 years of Zelda releases.

Wes Ball ("Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes", "The Maze Runner") directs. The announced cast is Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link, Bo Bragason as Princess Zelda, Uli Latukefu as Ganondorf and Dichen Lachman as Impa, with Yvonne Strahovski, Lydia Peckham and Sam Neill attached in roles that have not been named. Neill died in Sydney on July 13, 2026, at the age of 78; his family announced the death in a statement calling it sudden and unexpected, as reported by NPR. Deadline reported in August 2026 that Neill had filmed his part before he died.

The stakes are commercial as much as nostalgic. Nintendo's 2023 announcement said the film is produced by Nintendo and Arad Productions Inc., with Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad as producers, and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which co-finances it — Nintendo covering more than half, according to that same release. A title, a logo and a fixed date now give theaters, retailers and licensees something to plan around. The date has moved before: the film had been set for May 7, 2027, and on May 13, 2026 Miyamoto announced the one-week shift forward to April 30, saying only that the team was working to deliver the film as soon as possible.

Much is still missing. Nintendo showed no footage or trailer at the Direct, has not said which characters Strahovski, Peckham and Neill play, and has released no runtime, rating or marketing calendar. Nothing has been said publicly about how Neill's scenes will be handled in promotion. The next concrete marker will be a first trailer, and neither Nintendo nor Sony has indicated when it arrives.