Studio Ghibli’s The Legend of Zelda debunked: Fake movie explained

Is Studio Ghibli developing a movie based on The Legend of Zelda? No, but you shouldn’t be blamed for believing so — here’s what you need to know.

After the unprecedented box-office success of The Super Mario Bros Movie, second only to Barbie in 2023 with its $1.36 billion haul, all eyes looked to Nintendo’s back catalogue of video games that could be turned into movies.

More specifically, The Legend of Zelda. Wes Ball, the director behind The Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is definitely directing a Zelda movie — and he even said he’s hoping to make it look like “live-action Miyazaki.”

However, if you were excited about an official Studio Ghibli take on The Legend of Zelda, prepare to be disappointed: it’s not real. You’ve been duped by a fake poster on X/Twitter, posted to catch people out on April Fool’s Day.

The poster was shared by @ghiblipictures, a Studio Ghibli fan account with more than 1.3 million followers. “A film about the Zelda games is in preparation and will be produced by the famous Studio Ghibli, which has already produced The Boy and the Heron in 2023,” the account wrote — but it’s a complete lie.

As the post’s community note has pointed out, the poster was designed by Matt Vince in 2015, but that hasn’t stopped it fooling people. “Ah come on don’t play with my feelings, that’s not true,” one wrote.

“I want to believe it so much my brain refuses to acknowledge it’s April 1st,” another replied. “Studio Ghibli Pictures you will be dealt with,” a third wrote.

In the meantime, you can find out what other new (and real) movies you should check out in April.