It took a while to convince me this was real, and not just some Sora AI-generated nonsense, but new spy footage of the filming of The Legend of Zelda movie in New Zealand has shown off a behind-the-scenes look at the look of Link, Zelda and surprisingly, a bigger-name actress playing what appears to be Impa.
The footage, which is still live at least at the time of this writing, is embedded below.
In the footage, Link actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth is shown wearing Link’s green tunic with long-ish blonde hair. Zelda actress Bo Bragson is in her blue tunic with darker hair, akin to her Twilight Princess era. But supposedly, this film is not adapting one specific game in the franchise, similar to how Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie was filmed.
But what’s most notable is the reveal that with 99% certainty, we can see another actor in the film, one who was not previously announced. That would be Dichen Lachman playing what appears to be Impa. Lachman’s highest profile role has been Ms. Casey in two seasons of Severance, though before that, she was in a number of Jurassic Park movies, Agents of SHIELD, Altered Carbon, Dollhouse and more.
The only two cast members who have actually been announced are Bragson and Ainsworth, so this reveal is a pretty big deal, and we know the film is not going to be stocked with completely unknown actors all the way through. No great surprise, but again, no others have been announced.
The Legend of Zelda movie is directed by Zelda superfan Wes Ball of The Maze Runner fame and is meant to be out in 2027. If it’s filming now, that certainly seems likely. This is part of Nintendo’s continued moves into multimedia, where they found enormous success with the $1.3 billion-grossing Super Mario Bros. Movie, where promotion has now been ramping up for its sequel, Super Mario Galaxy, due out in April 2026. Nintendo says it is planning a “consistent release” of movies from here, but none have been officially announced besides Galaxy and Zelda, which represent Nintendo’s two most iconic franchises.
The choice to make a live-action Zelda movie always seemed like a risk, and we just don’t know how this will turn out with a somewhat unusual choice of director and led by two completely unknown young actors (who very much look the part, admittedly). Nintendo is reportedly heavily involved in all these projects, including this one, and if they can mirror even part of Mario’s success, it will be another big win for them.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/11/15/leaked-zelda-movie-footage-shows-link-zelda-and-a-severance-actor-impa/
