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It has come to light that the upcoming live-action The Legend of Zelda movie<\/a> is filming at some of the same locations that Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy shot at in New Zealand. The island country is known for its gorgeous natural beauty, and the live-action Zelda movie is going to tap into that, with scenes filmed near Queenstown, New Zealand.<\/p>\n Specifically, some of the recent filming has taken place in actual Paradise<\/a>, which is where many iconic scenes from Jackson’s movies were filmed, including depictions of Lothlorien, Isengard, and Amon Hen.<\/p>\n No doubt some of the Zelda movie is being filmed on sound stages, like Jackson’s movies were as well, but local Reece Reilly said the Zelda film is “being shot predominantly on location.”<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> No Caption Provided<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Zelda movie joins a long list of Hollywood productions to film on location in New Zealand due to the awe-inspiring landscapes the country is known for. In fact, New Zealand’s tourism board<\/a> highlights and promotes this fact, in part to encourage people to come visit.<\/p>\n Other productions shot at least in part on location in New Zealand include The Hobbit, The Power of the Dog, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Sweet Tooth, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Pete’s Dragon.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most famous set is The Lord of the Rings’ Hobbiton, which is located in Matamata. For a fee, people can still today visit the set and walk the same grounds<\/a> where The Lord of the Rings movies filmed several key scenes.<\/p>\n The Legend of Zelda movie is set for release in May 2027. It features Bo Bragason as Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link. It’s rumored that Severance actor Dichen Lachman appears in the movie as Impa. The plot synopsis for the movie has not been released, but we do know it’s being directed by Maze Runner’s Wes Ball.<\/p>\n He previously teased his vision for the Zelda movie<\/a>. “I have this awesome idea,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long freakin’ time, of how cool a Zelda movie would be… I want to fulfill people’s greatest desires. I know it’s important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape.”<\/p>\n The Zelda movie is a joint production between Nintendo and Sony Pictures. It’ll be just the latest movie based on a Nintendo game, following 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie and this year’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie<\/a>. A third animated Mario movie could follow in 2029, according to Jack Black. <\/a><\/p>\n As for the Zelda game series, fans are waiting for news about a new game and wondering if Nintendo will look to release a new entry in the action-adventure series around the time the movie comes out. That all remains to be seen, but with no brand-new Zelda game released yet for the Switch 2, it seems it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo brings the franchise back on the new hardware.<\/p>\n