Sam Neill will appear posthumously in The Legend of Zelda film

Sam Neill will appear in the live-action adaptation of "The Legend of Zelda": the New Zealand actor filmed his scenes before his death on July 13, 2026. Filming on the movie wrapped in April, so he did manage to finish the work. Which character he plays hasn't been revealed — Sony representatives declined to comment.

Neill passed away at 78, in Sydney, from pneumonia. For most audiences, he'll always be remembered as Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park, though across five decades of his career he also appeared in Possession, Event Horizon, and In the Mouth of Madness. That said, this role may not turn out to be his last: alongside "Zelda," the actor had two other unfinished films — "Godzilla x Kong: Supernova" is coming out in March 2027, and the romantic comedy The Last Resort with Daisy Ridley doesn't have a release date yet. Which film ultimately counts as his last will come down to release scheduling.

Along with the news about Neill, several other roles that Nintendo and Sony had kept under wraps for almost a year were also revealed. Dichen Lachman, known to audiences from "Severance," will play Impa — Princess Zelda's bodyguard and advisor. Yvonne Strahovski of "The Handmaid's Tale" landed the role of the queen, with the character's name not disclosed. Uli Latukefu will play Ganondorf, while the lead roles, announced back in July of last year, went to Bo Bragason as Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link.

It's the queen casting that has journalists speculating Neill could be playing the King of Hyrule. That said, it's purely a guess: the studio hasn't confirmed anything, and the film's plot is still being kept under wraps.

Wes Ball, known for "The Maze Runner" and "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," is directing the film, with the final script written by T.S. Nowlin. Sony and Nintendo are jointly financing and distributing the movie. The premiere is set for April 30, 2027, though some sources cite May 7.

Do you think Ball can pull off a live-action Zelda adaptation — or is this a case where the game is better left untouched?