{"id":31524,"date":"2026-08-07T21:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31524"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:54:20","slug":"sam-neills-final-on-screen-performance-will-be-in-the-legend-of-zelda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31524","title":{"rendered":"Sam Neill&#8217;s final on-screen performance will be in &#8216;The Legend Of Zelda\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p>The late Sam Neill is reportedly set to have his final on-screen performance in the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/games\/the-legend-of-zelda\"><em>Legend Of Zelda<\/em><\/a> film adaptation.<\/p>\n<p>Sony first announced in 2023 that it was joining forces with Nintendo to co-finance a <em>Zelda<\/em> film, and it was later revealed that the script was being written by T.S. Nowlin (<em>The Maze Runner<\/em>), and Wes Ball (<em>Planet of the Apes<\/em>) was onboard to direct.<\/p>\n<p>The movie is inspired by the hit <em>Legend of Zelda<\/em> gaming franchise, created by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, and details about the plot and the cast have remained under wraps.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, it was confirmed that Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (<em>The Haunting of Bly Manor<\/em>) would be taking on the lead role of Link and Bo Bragason (<em>Renegade Nell<\/em>) would be playing Princess Zelda.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The late Sam Neill will star in the live-action \u2018LEGEND OF ZELDA\u2019 movie.<\/p>\n<p>It is his final on-screen performance.<\/p>\n<p>(Source: Deadline) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yg8sOORrpo\">pic.twitter.com\/yg8sOORrpo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DiscussingFilm\/status\/2085457641719889944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Since then, more details about the cast have gradually emerged, with Australian actor Uli Latukefu (<em>Young Rock<\/em>) being announced as playing villain Ganondorf. Now, rumours have emerged that the late Sam Neill will also be a part of the cast.<\/p>\n<p>According to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/08\/legend-of-zelda-sam-neill-yvonne-strahovski-dichen-lachman-1237027957\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deadline<\/a>,<\/em> sources say that the <em>Jurassic Park<\/em> star will feature in the film, and it will likely mark his final on-screen performance. The reports have not yet been confirmed by Sony, and it has not yet been released who the actor will play in the blockbuster.<\/p>\n<p>Neill\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/film\/sam-neill-jurassic-park-and-peaky-blinders-actor-dies-aged-78-3956597\"> death was confirmed by his family on social media on July 13<\/a>, and while no cause of death was given at the time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/film\/sam-neill-back-at-work-after-being-treated-for-blood-cancer-3415932\">he did previously share he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with blood cancer in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A few days after his passing, Philip Grenz, who represented the New Zealand actor for 19 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/jurassic-park-actor-sam-neills-cause-of-death-revealed-3957255\">confirmed that Neill died from pneumonia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DauK0SrT6uJ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Neill was known for a number of films and TV series, including horror classic <em>Event Horizon<\/em>, Oscar-winning drama <em>The Piano<\/em>, and hit series <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/peaky-blinders\">Peaky Blinders<\/a><\/em>. His most famous role, however, was that of Dr. Alan Grant in 1993\u2019s <em>Jurassic Park<\/em>. He would reprise the role twice more, in 2001\u2019s <em>Jurassic Park III<\/em> and in 2022\u2019s <em>Jurassic World Dominion<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Legend Of Zelda<\/em> film is slated to be released in cinemas worldwide on May 7 2027, and other members of the cast reportedly include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/the-handmaids-tale\"><em>The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/em><\/a>\u2018s Yvonne Strahovski and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/severance\">Severance<\/a><\/em>\u2018s Dichen Lachman. The former is slated to play a queen character, and the latter is playing Zelda\u2019s bodyguard and advisor, Impa.<\/p>\n<p>More details about the cast and the plot of the film are expected to be shared at a later date.<\/p>\n<p>Since Neill\u2019s passing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/steven-spielberg\">Steven Spielberg<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/film\/laura-dern-and-steven-spielberg-pay-tribute-to-lifetime-friend-sam-neill-3956846\">Laura Dern have both paid tribute to their <em>Jurassic Park<\/em> co-star. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script>\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('consent', 'revoke');\n  fbq('init', '370979561341328');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The late Sam Neill is reportedly set to have his final on-screen performance in the upcoming Legend Of Zelda film adaptation. Sony first announced in 2023 that it was joining forces with Nintendo to co-finance a Zelda film, and it was later revealed that the script was being written by T.S. Nowlin (The Maze Runner),&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sam-neill@2000x1270.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}