It’s hardly been two weeks since pictures from the sets for A24’s Elden Ring movie leaked, yet new details on the Alex Garland-directed film are now dropping at a rapid pace—along with newly spotted pictures from its sets in London, which found their way online yesterday.
Based on all of the info we can glean from the production thus far, it would appear that the adaptation of FromSoftware’s 2022 action RPG is set at some point before the game. However, before we get into that, we need to go over all of the official details (as well as the unofficial leaks) first.
The Announcement
Rumors regarding a live-action Elden Ring adaptation were swirling online for weeks back in early 2025, before the film was officially announced on May 22 of that year by the independent production company A24, and subsequently confirmed by Elden Ring publishers Bandai Namco on May 23, 2025.
At the time, details were relatively sparse. The main piece of info that had fans feeling the adaptation was likely in good hands was the announcement of its director, Alex Garland. Garland has directed several critically acclaimed films during his 24-year-long career in Hollywood, including the horror sci-fi movies Ex Machina and Annihilation. However, his writing talents are arguably even more well-regarded, as he’s credited as the screenwriter for the likes of 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd.
The production-related announcements also helped, as it was revealed that Bandai Namco’s film production house, Bandai Namco Filmworks, was attached to the project as well, alongside production companies A24 and DNA Films. Plus, George R. R. Martin, who is credited as one of Elden Ring’s writers (alongside FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki), was also attached to the film adaptation as a producer.
Alex Garland gets outed as a Gamer™
In the months that followed the official announcement, further info regarding the Elden Ring film was noticeably scant. However, a couple of stories about director Alex Garland’s gamer cred did make their way into the news.
For instance, Garland was asked during an interview with IGN about which boss in Elden Ring he found the hardest, and he unsurprisingly revealed that Malenia, Blade of Miquella, was the fight he struggled with the most. He also said that Radahn was an absolute cakewalk. He also noted that he was, at the time, on his seventh playthrough of the game.
28 Years Later writer Alex Garland is directing the Elden Ring movie (but won’t tell us anything about it) pic.twitter.com/n5VaAwDZl6
— IGN (@IGN) June 18, 2025
A couple of months later, The New Yorker added to Garland’s gamer cred by revealing in a report that the director personally delivered a 160-page-long “on spec” (which is a fancy way of saying “without pay”) Elden Ring screenplay to FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki in Japan. Considering where we are now, it’s safe to assume Miyazaki was a fan of Garland’s vision.
(That Garland knows his way around a controller is no surprise to longtime readers of his books; his 1996 novel The Beach, which went on to be the basis for the Danny Boyle film, includes a few knowing nods to games itself.)
Ben Whishaw, Cailee Spaeny, and Kit Connor casting rumors appear online
While nothing was immediately confirmed in the first half of 2025, several rumors (which were subsequently proven to be correct) started to circulate online about Elden Ring’s cast.
As revealed by Deadline, Kit Connor, who had just come off of starring in Garland’s 2025 film Warfare at the time, was the first of the rumored cast members. Cailee Spaeny, who had previously starred in Garland’s 2024 film Civil War, was also subsequently teased by several outlets, alongside three-time BAFTA award-winner Ben Whishaw.
Pictures from the set leak online (for the first time)
Earlier this month, after we’d heard basically nothing about the film for close to ten months, pictures and videos from one of Elden Ring’s sets randomly appeared online.
The leak was obtained by a Twitch streamer and, coincidentally, FromSoftware enjoyer by the name of THROX. According to THROX, one of his friends spotted the set in an undisclosed field somewhere in England, leading him to subsequently discover several props and what appeared to be a Church of Marika just…sitting there.
Considering the age we live in, where anything can be easily faked using generative AI, everyone was naturally skeptical of THROX’s find. However, the news that followed in the next couple of weeks makes it seem more than likely that THROX’s discovery was legit.
Elden Ring gets a release date and a full cast reveal
As revealed by both A24 and Bandai Namco on April 20, the Elden Ring film will be hitting theatres on March 3, 2028. This announcement was also paired with a full cast reveal, which confirmed that Connor, Spaeny, and Whishaw are attached to the project.
Alongside the aforementioned cast members, we also found out that Jonathan Pryce, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Peter Serafinowicz, Sonoya Mizuno, Ruby Cruz, John Hodgkinson, Jefferson Hall, Emma Laird, and Nick Offerman will appear in the film.
Unfortunately, it has not been confirmed who they’ll be playing. Thankfully, Kotaku’s Rebekah Valentine has already taken a stab at trying to figure out exactly which characters from Elden Ring said actors might be portraying. Peter Serafinowicz as Patches is such an inspired choice that I’m now honestly going to be disappointed if that guess is not accurate.
Pictures from the set leak online (again)
All right, before we get into this next one, I should warn you that we’re officially getting into spoiler territory here. That’s because, as originally shared by Shortlist on April 21, a new leak from the Elden Ring set in London was shared online yesterday—and said leak is far more detailed than the previous one.
There’s a lot to take from this leak, so now is your last chance to bow out if you want to go in completely unspoiled.
For a start, we can now confirm that a few specific locations from the Lands Between will be making an appearance. A barrel full of brooms labelled “Stormveil” was spotted, as well as a street sign that reads “Leyndell Streets,” so I think it’s fair to assume that both Stormveil Castle and Leyndell’s Royal Capital will be making an appearance.
MORE ELDEN RING MOVIE SET PICS ???? oh lord i will be so obnoxious in the movie theater pic.twitter.com/kmi2h6N8VL
— jar saint (@scadutree) April 21, 2026
Plus, as Shortlist notes in their article, several lanterns and cages that look identical to the ones you can find in the Academy of Raya Lucaria were also snapped. The Painted Hall in the Old Royal Naval College, which could very easily work as a stand-in for Raya Lucaria, has also been closed off for use in the film.
Also, a gallows was spotted that looks very similar to the one that Dung Eater can be seen hanging from in Elden Ring’s opening cinematic. While this one might seem like a bit of a stretch, it does look indistinguishable from the one in the opening cutscene, right down to the length of the chain.
Finally, and this is probably the biggest spoiler out of the lot, there’s a very distant picture of someone who looks a lot like Cailee Spaeny…and who is almost certainly dressed as Queen Marika.
this marika elden ring movie leak ….. her having both braids implies that this takes place before the shattering, before she seals off the realm of shadow, before her solemn duties as god-queen. a young marika during her age of plenty ?? 🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/BRn8kvkZmz
— jar saint (@scadutree) April 21, 2026
I also saw a picture floating around of Kit Connor on the set, and his outfit is so non-descript that I cannot tie it to any specific armor set in the game. It almost looks like a more leathery version of the Spellblade Set? And hey, now that I mention it, Connor does look a little bit like Sorcerer Rogier in that picture…
So, what’s the story?
Good question. For the time being, most of the info we have, even based on the pictures from the set leaks, is purely speculative. We still don’t really know who anyone is playing, and while some pictures, such as Dung Eater’s gallows, do seem like compelling evidence, they’re not outright confirmation of anything.
Here’s what we can say with some certainty: there’s a strong chance we’ll be seeing Stormveil Castle, Raya Lucaria, and Leyndell’s Royal Capital. And, based on the pictures, Queen Marika is still alive and kicking.
With all this in mind, here’s my best educated guess: I think the film takes place just after the 2nd Liurnian War. Why? Because that would explain why the events of the film will take us to Stormveil.
By the time the 2nd Liurnian War is over, Radagon and Rennala are married. This happens just before Godfrey, Queen Marika’s first consort, singlehandedly takes over Stormveil Castle. As the timeline of events goes, Godfrey goes on a bit of a rampage through the Lands Between in this period, which subsequently ends with Queen Marika banishing him…and then taking Radagon as her second consort in his stead, which breaks Rennala’s heart.
Based on the fact that Leyndell looks to be in much better shape than it does in does in-game, we’re obviously seeing it before the ancient dragon Gransax decimates its outer walls, which is an event that takes place before Radagon becomes King Consort. This is followed by the Night of Black Knives, which is then followed by The Shattering, which essentially kicks off the events of the game.
Now, that’s maybe a little too much to fit into one movie. However, I still think the 2nd Liurnian War is a good starting point for one reason: it’s got everything a standard Hollywood film would need.
Romance, war, a Game of Thrones-style battle of lineage, and, most importantly, a simple starting point for general audiences to jump into (at least without having to watch 60 VaatiVidya lore videos beforehand). I guess we’ll have to see if they start destroying parts of the set in the coming weeks before we can know for sure.
