Nintendo Delays LEGEND OF ZELDA Movie’s Release Date

Published: June 11, 2025

Legend of Zelda, Nintendo — Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash

By Gavin Boyle

Nintendo executive Shigeru Miyamoto announced that the LEGEND OF ZELDA movie’s slated release date been pushed back from March of 2027 to May of the same year.

“This is Miyamoto. For production reasons, we are changing the release date of the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda to May 7, 2027,” he announced on X. “It will be some weeks later than the release timing we originally announced, and we will take the extra time to make the film as good as it can be. Thank you for your patience.”

This is Miyamoto. For production reasons, we are changing the release date of the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda to May 7, 2027. It will be some weeks later than the release timing we originally announced, and we will take the extra time to make the film as good as it…

— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) June 9, 2025

At the time of this news, fans know very little about the upcoming movie including which Zelda game it will be primarily based upon or who any of the cast members will be. However, MAZE RUNNER director Wes Ball will head the movie, writer Derek Conolly will pen the movie and former founder and CEO of Marvel Studios, Avi Arad, will produce.

“This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films,” Miyamoto said when the movie was first announced in 2023. “I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of this film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”

Though Nintendo has been a major player in the world of media entertainment for decades, Zelda will mark only the second time one of its franchises reaches the big screen. In 2023, Nintendo released THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE to incredible success, grossing over $1.3 billion at the global box office and ending 2023 as the No. 2 movie of the year. Fans lauded it for its family-friendly story that was enjoyable for all audiences. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023) has a strong moral message about brotherhood, sacrifice, and working together to overcome evil. The movie has breathtaking animation that honors its iconic source material while breathing new life into the large cast of characters from both Mario video games and other Nintendo games of the same universe. For Mario and Luigi, love for one another helps them overcome their deepest fears and stand up against Bowser and his army of Koopas, Goombas, and Piranha Plants. Due to some intense animated action/violence, Movieguide® advises caution for younger children.

Nintendo has since announced a sequel to the movie, which the end of the first movie — when a Yoshi egg was seen in New York City — hinted at.

“We are now creating a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros… We’ll let you know the details once we’re ready to share more,” Miyamoto said in March of 2024. “This time too, the staff are Illumination and Nintendo are working together. We’re thinking about broadening Mario’s world further, and it’ll have a bright fun story. We hope you’ll look forward to it.”

The future is bright for Nintendo fans as the company’s most popular IPs get expanded upon and brought to the big screen for everyone to enjoy.

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