Video Games

The live-action Legend of Zelda movie’s release date frame just became a little clearer

Nintendo’s stayed quiet about plans for its live-action Zelda movie after announcing it almost two years ago, but the video game adaptation's release date frame is getting clearer

Josh Broadwell

Nintendo

Nintendo’s stayed quiet about plans for its live-action Zelda movie after announcing it almost two years ago, but the video game adaptation's release date frame is getting clearer. Almost. If you squint.

Nintendo narrowed the Zelda movie’s release date frame in a recent financial report, where the company also confirmed backwards compatibility between the Switch and Switch 2 – or whatever it’s called.

Company president Shuntaro Furukawa presented a graphic that summarized Nintendo’s current film efforts, and alongside the Super Mario Bros Movie’s sequel, planned for a 2026 release date, is The Legend of Zelda movie. It has a “202X” date, so assuming that’s a hard estimate, you can expect it sometime before December 31, 2029.

Furukawa also reaffirmed Nintendo’s commitment to branching into areas outside software development, a decision the first Mario Bros. Movie’s outstanding success helped encourage.

“In the field of visual content, we are making direct investments and are deeply involved in the planning and development of multiple productions,” Furukawa said. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a joint production with Illumination, was released in April last year and was viewed in theaters by approximately 170 million people. This film was enjoyed by people of all ages worldwide, regardless of gaming experience, making Mario more familiar to a broader audience than ever before.”

Nintendo’s plans for the adaptation are still largely unknown. This little blip is the first time Nintendo mentioned the Zelda movie since the original announcement, which, itself, only mentioned the film’s production partners. In addition to Nintendo, those partners include Arad Productions and Sony.

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Josh Broadwell
JOSH BROADWELL

Josh is a freelance writer and reporter who specializes in guides, reviews, and whatever else he can convince someone to commission. You may have seen him on NPR, IGN, Polygon, or Rolling Stone shouting about RPGs. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him outside with his Belgian Malinois and Australian Shepherd or leveling yet another job in FFXIV.

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