Peter Serafinowicz has confirmed he is in Alex Garland’s Elden Ring movie, and says the role came about after a chance meeting with Garland years ago, where the two bonded over their shared obsession with Dark Souls.
- Serafinowicz already has FromSoftware history: he voiced Mild-Mannered Pate in Dark Souls 2 and recorded the male character’s death and exertion sounds, which he says are still used in Elden Ring today.
- The film is scheduled for cinemas on 3 March 2028, with production beginning in Spring 2026 and a reported budget well over $100 million, making it A24’s most ambitious project yet.
- The cast includes Kit Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Ben Whishaw, Nick Offerman, Jonathan Pryce and Sonoya Mizuno. No UAE release details exist yet, which is normal this far out.
If you have ever died in Elden Ring — so, if you have ever played Elden Ring — you have heard Peter Serafinowicz. The actor best known as the voice of Darth Maul, Pete from Shaun of the Dead and The Sommelier in John Wick: Chapter 2 recorded the male character’s pain grunts and death noises for FromSoftware years ago, and now he has revealed how that fandom eventually landed him a role in Alex Garland’s Elden Ring movie.
A friendship built on Dark Souls
Speaking on Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things, Serafinowicz picked Dark Souls as one of his choices and explained that his casting traces back to a chance encounter in a reception area, where Garland — himself a self-described massive Dark Souls fan — introduced himself before an audition. “We were just enthusing about all these different aspects of this wonderful game, and we became friends based on this little interaction,” Serafinowicz said. He even left his phone number at reception for Garland to collect afterwards. “It was like a sort of date, you know.”
Years later, that friendship paid off in the most Souls-like way possible: slow, unglamorous persistence rewarded at the end. “Alex is currently directing Elden Ring the movie, and I’m in it! I’m in it! I just can’t believe my luck,” he said.
The man behind ‘You Died’
Serafinowicz’s FromSoftware connection goes back further than the film. After falling in love with the first Dark Souls, he says he essentially bullied his way into Dark Souls 2, contacting the studio directly and pitching himself as a voice actor. He ended up playing Mild-Mannered Pate — but the more enduring gig was recording the exertion and death sounds for male player characters, audio that FromSoftware has carried forward into its later games, including Elden Ring.
“I always forget if when I pick it up and have a little go and I die, it’s like me, right? It’s a weird way to be immortalised,” he said, calling it one of his proudest achievements. He also mentioned meeting a fellow cast member at a costume fitting who turned out to be a fan of the games, and duly performed his death noise on request. It is a lovely bit of casting logic: the man whose voice plays every time you fail in The Lands Between now gets to be on screen for the adaptation. Voice actors putting their literal screams into franchise canon is apparently having a moment — Sam Witwer’s actual screams ended up in Darth Maul’s lightsaber for Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord.
Where the Elden Ring movie stands
Garland’s live-action adaptation is scheduled for cinemas on 3 March 2028, with Bandai Namco confirming production begins in Spring 2026 and the film being made for IMAX as well as standard screens. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is A24’s most ambitious project ever, with a budget “well over $100 million” — more than Garland’s own Civil War.
Serafinowicz joins a stacked cast that includes Kit Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Ben Whishaw, Nick Offerman, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonathan Pryce, Ruby Cruz, John Hodgkinson, Jefferson Hall and Emma Laird. Filming glimpses have already surfaced, including leaked UK set footage showing the Church of Marika.
FAQ
When does the Elden Ring movie release?
Alex Garland’s Elden Ring film is scheduled for cinemas on 3 March 2028, with production beginning in Spring 2026. It is being made for IMAX as well as standard theatrical release.
What role did Peter Serafinowicz play in the Dark Souls games?
He voiced Mild-Mannered Pate in Dark Souls 2 and recorded the male player character’s death and exertion sounds, which FromSoftware has continued to use in later games, including Elden Ring.
Who else is in the Elden Ring movie cast?
The confirmed cast includes Kit Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Ben Whishaw, Nick Offerman, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonathan Pryce, Ruby Cruz, John Hodgkinson, Jefferson Hall and Emma Laird, alongside Peter Serafinowicz.
