A24's long-awaited Elden Ring movie has reached a major production milestone. Principal photography on the live-action adaptation of FromSoftware's landmark 2022 open-world game is essentially complete, according to a crew member who worked on the project. The film remains on track for a theatrical release on March 3, 2028.
Prop maker Sean Schofield, whose previous credits include The Witcher and The Rings of Power, shared the news on Instagram on Thursday. He posted a photo of what appears to be a wrap gift alongside a thank-you note signed by director Alex Garland and producers Allon Reich, Matthew Penry-Davey, Peter Rice, Andrew Macdonald, and Charlie Reed. Schofield described the experience in glowing terms.
"Dream job to end all dream jobs," he wrote. "6 solid months of blood, sweat and tears making the coolest stuff ever, working alongside the best of the best. Can't share anything else for a very long time, but I couldn't be more proud of what we did."
Schofield's post marks the first concrete confirmation from someone inside the production that filming has largely concluded. The project has been shooting for roughly four months of principal photography, though Schofield's own involvement stretched across six months of prop and practical work. That timeline lines up with the scale expected for a FromSoftware adaptation. Elden Ring is not a straightforward narrative. Its story is fragmented, its world is vast, and its visual language is dense with unique architecture, armor, and creatures that demand careful translation to live action.
Over the past several months, set photos and paparazzi shots have offered occasional glimpses of that translation in progress. Images circulating online have shown costumed performers in roles that appear to match Queen Marika, the Dung Eater, and Sorcerer Rogier. Backgrounds and partial sets have also surfaced that strongly evoke Stormveil Castle and the misty expanses of Liurnia of the Lakes. None of these images have been officially confirmed by A24 or Bandai Namco, but the level of detail visible in the leaked material suggests the production has prioritized practical sets and costumes wherever possible before the inevitable heavy visual effects pass begins.
That visual effects work is the next major phase. With principal photography nearly finished, the film moves fully into post-production. The nearly two-year gap between the end of shooting and the March 3, 2028 release date is a clear signal of how much digital heavy lifting remains. Creating a convincing version of the Lands Between on screen will require extensive creature work, environmental extensions, magic effects, and large-scale battle sequences. A24 has not yet commented on the production status, so we will have to wait and see what they say.
The project itself was first announced in May 2025 by A24 and Bandai Namco. Alex Garland signed on to write and direct. Garland is best known for cerebral, high-concept films such as Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War. He is also an open and enthusiastic FromSoftware fan. Reports indicate he has finished Elden Ring roughly seven times and has similar experience with the Dark Souls series. That level of personal investment reportedly played a role in securing the rights. Garland is said to have written a 160-page script on speculation, complete with an additional 40 pages of visual reference material, before approaching FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki. The package was enough to convince the studio to move forward with the adaptation.
Garland's track record with adapted material is solid. He previously wrote the screenplays for Never Let Me Go, Annihilation, and Dredd, each based on existing source works. Those projects suggest he is comfortable working within established worlds while still imposing a distinct authorial voice. Whether that approach will satisfy players who treat Elden Ring's lore as sacred text remains to be seen, but the combination of Garland's personal investment and Miyazaki's reported approval at least raises the odds of a respectful adaptation rather than a purely commercial one.
The cast assembled so far is notably varied. Confirmed names include Kit Connor, Ben Whishaw, Cailee Spaeny, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonathan Pryce, Ruby Cruz, Nick Offerman, John Hodgkinson, Jefferson Hall, Emma Laird, and Peter Serafinowicz. Specific roles have not been officially locked down in public statements, though online speculation has already begun matching certain actors to major figures from the game. The presence of performers with both prestige and genre experience is consistent with A24's usual approach of blending arthouse credibility with broader commercial potential.
Adapting Elden Ring was never going to be a simple proposition. The game deliberately withholds clean narrative answers. Its story is told through item descriptions, environmental storytelling, and cryptic dialogue rather than traditional cutscenes or exposition dumps. Translating that approach into a two-hour-plus film requires structural choices that will inevitably leave some players feeling something essential has been lost. At the same time, the game's visual and atmospheric strengths give a filmmaker with Garland's sensibility a rich foundation to work from. The Lands Between is already cinematic in its scale and mood. The challenge is preserving that tone while delivering a coherent dramatic experience for audiences who may never have touched a controller.
The long post-production window also reflects the current reality of large-scale fantasy filmmaking. Even with practical sets and costumes, the volume of digital work required for a project of this scope is enormous. FromSoftware's games are defined by their meticulous craftsmanship and distinctive art direction. Matching that standard on screen will take time, and the 2028 release date gives the production room to do so without the usual compressed theatrical deadlines that often compromise effects-heavy films.
For now, the most tangible progress is the near-completion of filming. A crew member with direct experience on the project has confirmed the wrap, shared photographic evidence of the thank-you notes, and described the work in strongly positive terms. The cast list is public. The release date is locked. And the director is someone who has repeatedly demonstrated both technical skill and a genuine appreciation for the source material.
What remains is the long, quiet phase of post-production. Editing, visual effects, sound design, and scoring will determine whether the finished film captures the strange, mournful grandeur of Elden Ring or simply borrows its most recognizable imagery. Until more official information emerges from A24, the clearest signal is the one that just arrived from the set itself: principal photography is done, and the long wait for the Lands Between on the big screen has officially begun.
What are your thoughts on the report? Are you excited for an Elden Ring movie? Will you buy tickets to watch it at midnight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!