An on-set leak from the A24-backed Elden Ring film has surfaced, and it is exactly as gloriously unhinged as you would hope. Footage shared by UnBoxPHD on YouTube captures a live-action recreation of one of the most memorable moments in Elden Ring's opening cutscene: the Loathsome Dung Eater dangling from the gallows while assorted projectiles rain down on him. Specifically, a whole head of lettuce.
The scene that broke everyone's brain in 2022
If you played Elden Ring at launch, you know the exact moment. The opening cutscene rolls, narrator Jimmy Livingstone builds into a feverish pitch, and then the game casually introduces a character called the Loathsome Dung Eater being publicly punished for crimes the game leaves to your imagination. The community's collective reaction was somewhere between confusion and absolute delight.
The leaked footage shows the film's production team leaning fully into that energy. The costume reportedly nails the look, complete with what the source describes as authentically puckered orifices. The projectiles the game leaves ambiguous have been interpreted as vegetables, and one very identifiable lettuce makes a high-speed appearance.
Here's the thing: this is a genuinely smart creative choice. The game never specifies what the crowd is throwing, which gives the filmmakers room to play. Vegetables are both period-appropriate and funny in a way that fits Elden Ring's tone, a world that takes itself seriously while quietly housing some of the most absurd characters in modern RPG history.
What else the production has revealed so far
The Elden Ring film has been building momentum fast. Bandai Namco confirmed the live-action adaptation last year, with Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later) directing and A24 producing. The cast includes Jonathan Pryce, Nick Offerman, and Peter Serafinowicz, the latter being a well-documented FromSoftware fan.
A24 has reportedly committed well over $100 million to the project, which the studio describes as its largest and most ambitious production to date. That is a significant number for a company whose reputation was built on mid-budget prestige films.
Filming is expected to run approximately 100 days. Previous leaks have already hinted at familiar Elden Ring locations being recreated on set, and a glimpse of Marika suggests the story may spend time in the period before The Shattering rather than following the player character's journey directly.
The Elden Ring movie is currently scheduled for a theatrical release on 3rd March, 2028. No official trailer or synopsis has been released by A24 or Bandai Namco.
Why this particular leak landed so well
Most on-set leaks generate mild interest at best. This one went wide because it taps directly into a shared memory that every Elden Ring player has. The Dung Eater is not the game's most powerful enemy or its most complex character, but he is one of the first things the game shows you, and the name alone is enough to make anyone who has seen that cutscene laugh.
What most players miss is how much that opening scene does for the game's tone. It signals immediately that Elden Ring is not going to be a straightforward heroic fantasy. The world is strange, the characters are stranger, and the narrator is going to describe all of it with complete sincerity. The film recreating that moment with a flying lettuce suggests the production understands what made the source material work.
For more on what's coming to the world of gaming adaptations and beyond, check out our latest gaming news, and if you want to revisit the Lands Between before the film arrives, there are plenty of guides to help you through it.
