The Legend of Zelda live-action movie has found the lead actors to play the heroic swordsman Link and titular Princess Zelda in the upcoming film from director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner). In an official announcement post from Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto himself revealed that Link will be played by actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Netflix’s The Sandman, Disney’s live-action Pinocchio); Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason (King and Conqueror). The attached photo of both young actors (see below) certainly makes a compelling case for the casting, as they both appear to be well-suited to embody these now-iconic characters from gaming lore.
In his official statement, Miyamoto said (via translation): “This is Miyamoto. I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason-san, and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san. I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen.” In a follow-up post, he added that “The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 7, 2027. Thank you for your patience.”
Neither Bragaon nor Ainsworth has all that much screen experience that most mainstream viewers will be able to associate them with. Ainsworth will probably be a familiar face, as he played the young version of Alex Burgess, son of the magician Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance), the man who captures Lord Dream and imprisons him for years. His work in Pinocchio was substantial (voicing the titular character), but wasn’t the sort of onscreen performance that fans will be able to weigh against his potential prowess at playing Link. Ironically enough, recent Zelda game installments (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch) have seriously leaned into the classic trope of Link being a silent protagonist whose only forms of communication are wide-eyed facial expressions and various battle or panicked cries depending on the situation. That’s all to say: Ainsworth has a wide canvas to paint a whole new depiction of Link – and hopefully one that’s less smarmy than the ’90s animated series version of the character.
The casting of Bragason as Zelda will be far more controversial for a lot of the Zelda fandom.
The Legend of Zelda has a release date of May 7, 2027.
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