The Legend of Zelda movie just got a release date change, again

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda movie has a new release date. Zelda series creator Shigeru Miyamoto announced Wednesday that the live-action Zelda film will now be released on April 30, 2027 — a week earlier than previously planned.

“I would like to let you know that the worldwide theatrical release date for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda has been moved up to April 30, 2027, from May 7,” Miyamoto said in a statement posted to Nintendo’s official X account. “The team is working hard to deliver the film to everyone as soon as possible. There’s less than a year to go until release, so thank you for waiting.”

This is the second release date change for Nintendo and Sony Pictures’ The Legend of Zelda. The film was originally scheduled for release on March 27, 2027, but a few months later, Nintendo announced a delay for The Legend of Zelda, pushing it back six weeks.

The shifting of release dates for Nintendo movies is becoming something of a pattern. Nintendo delayed the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and later moved up the release date of its sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Nintendo apparently likes to keep fans and movie theater chains on their toes.

Nintendo’s Zelda movie was announced in 2023. Nintendo is partnering with Sony Pictures Entertainment for the project, with The Legend of Zelda co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Hollywood veteran Avi Arad producing. Miyamoto said in 2023 that he’d been working on the movie for “many years now.”

Wes Ball, director of the Maze Runner movie trilogy and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is helming the live-action adaptation of the fantasy franchise. Ball told Polygon in 2024 that he wants his take on The Legend of Zelda to be more “grounded” and “real,” and not based on fully motion-captured computer graphics.

The still-untitled Legend of Zelda movie stars Bo Bragason as Princess Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link. Bragason starred in the Disney Plus series Renegade Nell as the titular Nell’s sister. Ainsworth played Miles in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix horror series The Haunting of Bly Manor and was the voice of Pinocchio in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action remake of Pinocchio. You might also have seen him as Alex Burgess in The Sandman episode “Sleep of the Just.”

Nintendo is rumored to be developing a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for release on Nintendo Switch 2 sometime in 2026. The game company is also working on another animated feature with Illumination that’s slated to hit movie theaters in 2028. Nintendo and Illumination’s latest collaboration, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, is now in movie theaters and has grossed more than $940 million at the global box office.