Nintendo and Sony’s live action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda is filming now in New Zealand, ripping a page from another beloved fantasy blockbuster, but the movie’s vague plot synopsis left everyone scratching their heads trying to guess which game exactly was being put to film here. Clips from the movie’s shoot now give us a clearer idea, though.
The Legend of Zelda movie has a lot of source material to take as reference. The series is almost 40 years old, after all, and the fantasy epic has hardly ever taken an elongated break during those four decades. Despite that deep well of lore, director Wes Ball and Co. seem to be riffing on the latest mainline games, specifically 2017’s Breath of the Wild.
A leaked clip from movie’s set shows Bo Bragason (Princess Zelda) walk through a forest and collect a weapon from an unidentified character. Uneventful, right? What makes the short glimpse notable is Zelda’s blue adventuring outfit, complete with her thick leather boots, fitted pants, and fingerless gloves.
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There’s a few differences between this getup and Zelda’s in-game counterpart – Bragason’s blouse doesn’t have gold stitching the collar, for example – but her intertwining double-plated hair makes one thing clear: this Zelda is very Breath of the Wild-coded.
The blockbuster Switch game sees main man Link awaken from a 100-year slumber to a Hyrule that’s been utterly torn apart by an apocalyptic force called Calamity Ganon, who’s only being temporarily supressed by Zelda’s magic. Even if the upcoming film was taking more inspiration from Breath of the Wild, I wouldn’t expect it to be a one-to-one conversion, since most of the titular princess’ screentime is relegated to flashbacks.
The Legend of Zelda movie is set to open on May 7, 2027.
For more, check out our guides on upcoming video game movies and best Zelda games.
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