Legend of Zelda Movie Officially Reveals First Look at Link and the Princess After Set Leak

Sony Pictures and Nintendo have released the first look at Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Princess Zelda and Link in the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie. The decision to release these first images, which debuted via the Nintendo Today app may have been forced by a set leak over the weekend that saw footage from the film's production in New Zealand surfacing online. Baragson plays the titular princess and Ainsworth plays her champion, Link.

While Zelda and Link have gone through many redesigns over The Legend of Zelda series' nearly 40-year history, from cartoonish to grim and gritty, these photos suggest that The Legend of Zelda movie will take inspiration from Zelda and Link's most recent incarnations, introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017, with Bragason's blue-topped outfit being a clear giveaway. That makes some sense given that Breath of the Wild is the bestselling game in The Legend of Zelda series and, thus, possibly the most recognizable iteration of the characters.

The idea of making The Legend of Zelda into a movie has been a point of discussion among longtime fans of the series for years, and such a movie was at one point rumored to be in development at Netflix. However, if that rumor was ever true, it never bore fruit.

It was apparently the blockbuster success of another Nintendo game-to-film project, 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, that led to concrete movement in a live-action The Legend of Zelda film. In fact, The Super Mario Bros. Movie's success seems to have opened the floodgates to a surge of video game adaptations as Hollywood studios look for a way ot recreate the IP-focused buzz that once surrounded superhero movies.

The Legend of Zelda Movie Brings an Iconic Nintendo Game To Life

Sony Pictures has set Wes Ball to direct The Legend of Zelda movie. Ball's work includes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The Maze Runner.

Bragason's Princess Zelda and Ainsworth's Link make up two aspects of the Triforce, the signature motif, MacGuffin, and logo of The Legend of Zelda series. Those two characters represent the virtues of wisdom and courage, respectively. The third character in that triumvirate, the villain Ganondorf, who represents the virtue of power, hasn't yet been cast in The Legend of Zelda movie, but most fans assume it is only a matter of time. Meanwhile, Dichen Lachman will play Impa, a character whose precise role varies dramatically from game to game, but who is typically an ally to the heroes.

The plot of The Legend of Zelda movie has not been revealed, and it's tough to nail down the specifics, given how often The Legend of Zelda games reinvent themselves. Typically, the plot of a Zelda game involves Ganondorf putting Zelda, and thus the world of Hyrule, into peril. At this point, the hero Link receives a call to adventure and embarks on a quest to save the day, which usually involves gathering the pieces of the Triforce. While the games typically draw on the fantasy genre, if the movie takes inspiration from Breath of the Wild and its sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as the costuming suggests, it may also include technological and post-apocalyptic elements.

The Legend of Zelda movie opens in theaters on May 7, 2027.