August has already been full of news about the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie. Shortly after Deadline broke the news of Ganondorf’s casting, the outlet also reported that the late Sam Neill will also star in Nintendo’s live-action film.
Neill, who is best known for playing paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, passed away in July at the age of 78. Prior to that, Deadline reports the New Zealander finished filming an unknown role in Wes Ball’s The Legend of Zelda movie. The trade publication also reports that Severance actor Dichen Lachman and Yvonne Strahovski of Mass Effect 2 will appear in the adaptation as well. Strahovski, known for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, will be a queen character of some sort. Zelda’s mother, perhaps? Lachman will play Impa, the Sheikah bodyguard to the Hyrule royal family.
Though Nintendo and Sony Pictures have yet to reveal Neill’s role in the Zelda movie, the film may mark the beloved actor’s final appearance on the silver screen. The joint project wrapped filming in spring 2026, and is scheduled for release in May 2027. Neill, Lachman, and Strahovski will be joined by Bo Bragason as Princess Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto is producing the film alongside Sony veteran Avi Arad.
Beyond the initial announcement and photos of its stars, Nintendo hasn’t shared many details about the upcoming movie. Movie set leaks have shown that at least part of the movie was filmed in a woodsy outdoor area, where Impa can be seen counseling Zelda. Though the public hasn’t seen much of him as Link yet, Ainsworth’s role in Season 3 of House of the Dragon has pleasantly surprised fans who were initially unsure about his film casting. Director Wes Ball has also said that he intends for the fantasy movie to have a more “grounded” and “real” style.
Bets on who Neill might be playing? I want to say the King of Hyrule. But unless he’s wearing a bunch of prosthetics, I’m unsure whether Neill has the frame necessary for such a character. Either way, we’ll probably find out sometime before the movie hits theaters on April 30, 2027.
