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Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men’s Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.
Contributing Pop Culture Writer
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Nintendo has officially revealed the two leading cast members in its upcoming live action The Legend of Zelda movie, both Link and Zelda finally having names attached to the roles.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Nintendo fellow and representative director Shigeru Miyamoto revealed the casting for Link and Zelda in the previously announced film.
Zelda has been announced to be portrayed by British actor Bo Bragason, best known for her roles in a number of BBC One series – such as Three Girls and The Jetty – as well as a main cast member in Disney‘s Renegade Nell, where she portrayed Roxy Trotter. She has also appeared in one video game, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, where she portrayed a young Luna.
Link, on the other hand, will be portrayed by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, another British actor who’s appeared in a number of films and TV projects. The biggest of these was Disney’s live-action remake of Pinocchio, where Ainsworth starred in the leading role as the voice of the eponymous puppet.
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. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/KA5XW3lwul
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) July 16, 2025
Nintendo announced the production of a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda back in 2023, where it was announced that the film would be produced alongside Sony Pictures. Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball was attached to direct the film, with Miyamoto, Spider-Man producer Avi Arad, and regular collaborator Joe Hartwick Jr. producing.
The live action Zelda movie release date was announced to be March 26, 2027 earlier this year, with a post from Nintendo in the Nintendo Today app confirming the news, but it was subsequently delayed not long after. Last month, Nintendo announced that the release date for the Legend of Zelda live action movie would be May 7, 2027, which was confirmed once more by Miyamoto in today’s X post.
No plot details have been announced for the film as of yet, leaving fans to speculate which, if any, of the Zelda games the film could be based on. Many have floated the possibility of a film based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the most successful game in the series’ history and one of the best Nintendo Switch games of all time, while others have hoped for a wholly original story.
