Nintendo's found its Zelda and Link for the upcoming movie—and British soap opera Emmerdale finally gets the silver screen recognition it deserves

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Nintendo has taken a break from dispatching Sardaukar detachments against people looking askance at its copyright to cast a couple of young actors in the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie. Ladies and gentlemen, your Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason, and your Link will be portrayed by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. I don't know who either of them are, but spiritually I'm an 87 year old man, so I wouldn't take that as indicative of anything.

The castings were announced in a tweet purportedly written by Shigeru Miyamoto, which I have to imagine was not actually written by Shigeru Miyamoto. "I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen," said maybe-Miyamoto from his Nintendo throne. "The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 7, 2027. Thank you for your patience."

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/KA5XW3lwulJuly 16, 2025

Both actors are up-and-comers: 21-year-old Bragason has been in four films and a smattering of TV shows up to now. Well, kind of. One of those four films was doing mocap for the character Luna in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy 15, so you likely won't recognise her from that. You might recognise her from last year's vampire comedy The Radleys or her role in the TV series Three Girls, though.

Doe-eyed 16-year-old Evan Ainsworth, meanwhile, voiced Pinocchio in the 2022 live-action version. More importantly, he was apparently in Emmerdale (a British soap) one time, which will leave our US readers unfazed but send a jolt into a deep, ancestral area of UK readers' spines.

It's interesting, of course, that Nintendo's opted for relatively unknown young actors instead of the big box office names that headlined the Mario Movie. Perhaps the corporation is a bit more confident that its series' names alone can bring in audiences? Or maybe Miyamoto just saw Bragason and Evan Ainsworth's auditions and wouldn't accept a substitute.

I cannot tell you if the Zelda film will be good, but I will predict it will make more money than the entire world's GDP between the start of recorded history and the year 1750. The Mario Movie, Nintendo's last big marquee cinematic project, made over a billion dollars worldwide. I suspect Zelda will give it a run for its money.

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One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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