Nintendo Reveals Live-Action Zelda and Link, And Fans Are Delightfully Shocked
By Erin Whitten
Nintendo has officially revealed the full cast for its upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie. Princess Zelda has been cast as Bo Bragason and Link is being played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. Nintendo Co-Founder Shigeru Miyamoto also announced the movie’s cast through a Nintendo X social media post. Accompanied by a screengrab seemingly taken during a day of filming, Miyamoto also said in the post: “I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen.”
Bo Bragason is a British actress known for her role in the 2017 drama Three Girls and the 2021 horror flick Censor. Bragason has also done voice work and motion capture for Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV as a younger Luna. She had major success in 2024 for her work in Netflix series Renegade Nell as well as the BBC series The Jetty, which really showed off the range of her abilities. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth of Yorkshire, England is the lead actor for Link in Nintendo’s live-action Legend of Zelda movie. He is only 16 but Ainsworth began his acting career in Emmerdale and was picked up for his standout performance in 2020 Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth has portrayed Pinocchio in Disney’s live-action remake and was the lead in the Canadian comedy Son of a Critch.
The Vision
Wes Ball, director of The Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set to take the helm of Nintendo’s live-action Legend of Zelda. Speaking on the future movie, Ball has said that he will do a “grounded, real” take on the Hyrule fantasy world while still capturing the “magic” of the popular video game property. He has also said that he takes visual inspiration from Studio Ghibli’s work but is taking a more tactile approach that relies little on motion capture and CGI effects.
The story of the movie has not been made public just yet, but the fact that today’s big reveal of the lead cast means that development is likely already well underway for the movie and a May 7, 2027 theatrical release has been given. Photos that have been released with the announcement of the cast show Zelda (Bragason) in a flowing blue dress similar to the character’s Breath of the Wild look and Link (Ainsworth) in a green tunic similar to his standard outfit, though both are likely not final costume designs for the film.
What’s Next?
Nintendo’s choice of Bragason and Ainsworth for the lead roles of Legend of Zelda is also a major departure from the company’s decision-making for its first feature film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The Mario movie features a star-studded cast with numerous Hollywood names well known to the general moviegoing audience. The Legend of Zelda movie is more grounded in its approach to its cast with actors who have not yet had major breakout hits to keep the focus on Link and Zelda as the heroes since their first video game appearances defined them as young and modest characters.
The lead actors have been named for the Legend of Zelda movie but there is still plenty of question about who might play the villainous Ganon. The fan favorites are clearly big name comedians like Jack Black or Danny DeVito, but with director Wes Ball taking a realist approach to Zelda, it may be that the studio opts to cast a serious dramatic actor in the role instead. Nintendo’s Zelda live-action feature will be the next in line from the company in its push to create more big movies. This comes after the massive success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and its sequel, which is currently slated for 2026. Nintendo is also apparently in the works of creating a Donkey Kong spinoff movie. As for Zelda, with filming likely being not too far off and more details to surely be announced soon, fans have to just eagerly await for Nintendo’s next big live-action
