We’re Going To Be Watching The Legend Of Zelda Movie Sooner Than Expected

Unless you’ve been staying off the internet and running past every movie theater with a bag over your head for the past few years, you probably know that Nintendo has a big presence in the movie business these days. And while Super Mario Galaxy movie likely won’t stop inhaling cash for a while yet, the company will focus on generating hype for next year’s live-action Zelda movie, which is now releasing a little earlier than expected.

Announced by Shigeru Miyamoto, head of Nintendo and creator of Zelda, in his signature social media style, The Legend of ZeldaThe worldwide theatrical release date of has been brought forward to April 30, 2027, postponed from the previous May 7 in the release schedule. That means we have one less week to wait to see exactly what Nintendo and Sony Pictures have come up with for Link and Zelda’s big screen debut.

“In order to deliver it to everyone even one day earlier, the team is united to advance production,” Miyamoto wrote on X, in a message translated from Japanese. “There is less than a year left until release, but please wait a little longer.”

It’s not immediately obvious why the film’s release date was changed again, but perhaps Nintendo wants to get out of Shawn Levy’s path completely. Star Wars: Starfightercurrently scheduled for release on May 28. A release date at the end of April would give The Legend of Zelda a little more time with the box office all to itself, but Nintendo certainly isn’t saying that’s why it moved forward.

We’re still waiting for a proper trailer for the film adaptation of Nintendo’s long-running video game series, but we got our first look at Link and the eponymous princess, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason, back in November of last year. Somewhat confusingly, our inimitable Hylian hero is wearing his iconic green costume in these images, but Zelda is wearing Breath of the Wild-reminding blue. The exact timeline of Zelda in which the film directed by Wes Ball takes place therefore remains a mystery for the moment.

The other thing we know is that when The Legend of Zelda finally becomes available for streaming at home after its theatrical release, it is Netflix which will have the privilege first, after Sony Pictures signed an early exclusivity agreement with the streaming giant in early 2026.

It’s a big year for Zelda, as 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the series that began life on the NES in 1986. Until now, Nintendo has been very quiet about plans for an anniversary celebration, but the same insider who correctly predicted that a new Star Fox game would arrive in June has claimed that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will receive a remake on Switch 2 in the second half of this year. If this turns out to be true, a punter could bet that the story of the legendary N64 game will play a role in next year’s film.