JURASSIC PARK star Sam Neill filmed his final role for the upcoming LEGEND OF ZELDA movie before he died from pneumonia on July 13.
The movie finished filming in April. Other newly announced cast members include Dichen Lachman and Yvonne Strahovski. Insiders told Deadline that Strahovski plays a queenly role. Lachman plays Impa, a bodyguard and advisor to the Princess Zelda. Neill’s character in the movie has not been announced yet.
Bo Bragson plays Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth plays Link. The plot hasn’t been announced. Uli Latufeku will play Ganon and Lydia Peckham has been cast in an unknown role.
The Legend of Zelda video game franchise was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It follows a young warrior named Link and Princess Zelda as they save Hyrule from Ganon, an evil warlord-demon king. The franchise launched on Nintendo in 1986. It has sold over 150 million units since then.
Neill had passed away in Sydney, Australia. He had blood cancer — Hodgkin’s lymphoma — and was finally in remission as of April. However, his immune system was greatly weakened due to his treatment. In the past year, Neill had also worked very hard as he filmed four projects back to back, the BBC reported.
Related: First Mario, Now Link: Nintendo Wraps Filming on the Live-Action ZELDA Movie
“I’d like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for considering his privacy with the respect he earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this immeasurably difficult time,” his agent, Philip Grenz, said after the actor’s death.
His other posthumous appearances will include THE LAST RESORT and GODZILLA x KONG.
In 2023, the actor said, “I’m not afraid of dying. What I don’t want to do is to stop living, because I really enjoy living. I’ve regarded it as an adventure, quite a dark adventure, but an adventure nevertheless.”
He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA will release on April 30, 2027. It was previously slated for a May release.
Miyamoto recently revealed the news, saying, “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. 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.”
Bragson knows fans are eager to see the movie. She recently hinted, “It will be so worth the wait. Trust me.”
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