The Late Sam Neill Has A Role In The Legend Of Zelda Movie

Zelda Fans Share Theories On Who Sam Neill Might Be In The Live-Action Movie Published Aug 7, 2026, 2:42 AM EDT Josh Coulson is an editor at TheGamer covering breaking news on everything from colorful platformers to the latest Lego sets. Primarily a news writer since 2018, Josh has covered just about every major game from the past decade. Now an editor, their focus has shifted to being the leading affiliate expert at the site, building relationships between TheGamer and global brands including Mattel, Funko, and The Pokemon Company. Sign in to your TheGamer account Nintendo is slowly but surely drip-feeding us new details about its live-action Legend of Zelda movie. The new details about the film include three more actors who will appear, including Sam Neill in what will presumably be his final on-screen role following his recent passing. Universal Deadline revealed three more actors who will appear in the Zelda movie, which wrapped filming earlier this year and is still slated to hit theaters in April 2027. Dichen Lachman, who most will know as Ms. Casey from Severance, Dexter’s Yvonne Stravhoski, and the legendary Neill. Neill passed away last month, which means there’s a very real chance that his role in the Zelda movie could be the last one he ever shot. Who exactly the Jurassic Park actor is playing has not yet been revealed, though, which means, for a little while longer, until Nintendo and Sony confirm who he’s playing, the Zelda fanbase can try to guess who in Hyrule Neill might be. Zelda Fans Think Neill Will Play The King Of Hyrule Nintendo Lachman has already been confirmed to be playing Impa, which is fantastic casting. Strahovski and Neill’s roles, however, remain a mystery. The leading theory for Neill is that he has been cast to play the King of Hyrule. Rarely a huge role in the games, but there’s still no word on what exactly from the series the Zelda movie will pull from, so no way of telling just how much screen time Neill will get if he does indeed play King Rhoam. Although the King role is the overwhelming favorite among fans, so much so that I’m struggling to see Neill play anyone else, a handful of fans think he could be Rauru. Again, Nintendo remains tight-lipped on which Zelda game or games the movie will be an adaptation of. That makes figuring out who Neill might play that much harder since we don’t know which Hylian residents will make appearances on the big screen. Some have highlighted the poetic, full circle nature of what might be Neill’s last role. Neill hails from New Zealand, where the bulk of the Zelda movie was filmed, which means, just months before he passed, he returned to his home country to star in one final movie. Just hours before these three actors were confirmed to have roles in The Legend of Zelda, it was confirmed that Uli Latukefu will be its Ganondorf. House of the Dragon viewers have also been given a taste of what to expect from Benjamin Ainsworth, the actor playing Link, as he plays Prince Daeron in season three of the show. Release Date May 7, 2027 Director Wes Ball Writers Derek Connolly Producers Shigeru Miyamoto, Avi Arad Cast Benjamin Evan Ainsworth Link Bo Bragason Princess Zelda