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The Nintendo Legend of Zelda movie cast puts Netflix and Disney teen stars as the fated Zelda and Link
We have our Link and Zelda, but there are still a lot of characters left to flesh out Hyrule before The Legend of Zelda comes out.
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In the world of video game adaptations, The Legend of Zelda is the one that feels like it is hanging over everything else. A live-action movie version of one of the most iconic video game series ever was rumored for years before it was finally confirmed in late 2023. Other than a few release date changes, there haven’t been many details released about it, so we were all caught off-guard when Nintendo randomly dropped the actors set to star in The Legend of Zelda movie.
“This is Miyamoto,” began a statement posted on Nintendo's social media just before 8 pm in Japan. Shigeru Miyamoto was the man behind iconic Nintendo series such as Mario and The Legend of Zelda (the man is basically the Stan Lee of video games and we hope he gets his own cameo in The Legend of Zelda), so it is fitting that he wrote the announcement which came out of nowhere because Nintendo does their own thing when it comes to announcements.
The announcement gave us the actors who would be playing both Link and Zelda in The Legend of Zelda. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, just 16 years old, will be playing Link. Zelda will be portrayed by Bo Bragason.
Both are relatively unknown in the industry, with Ainsworth best known for his work in The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix. Bragson was in the Disney+ fantasy adventure series Renegade Nell.
It feels like a strange strategy to cast two unknown actors in what is probably the most anticipated video game adaptation on the release calendar, especially considering the star-studded cast that was in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. However, we can see logic here. We don’t have any preconceptions about Ainsworth and Bragson, and it allows Nintendo and Sony, who are co-financing The Legend of Zelda movie, to focus their casting budget on the villains and supporting cast to flesh out the world of Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda is set to hit screens on May 7, 2027, so there is still plenty of time for more casting announcements in the coming year.
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