The Legend of Zelda movie casts CBC sitcom star as Link

The live-action The Legend of Zelda movie just cast its lead character, and he will be familiar to some Canadians.

British actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who plays the titular character in the CBC sitcom Son of a Critch, has been tapped to play Link, the hero of the Zelda franchise. Fellow Brit Bo Bragason (Renegage Nell) has also been cast as Princess Zelda. Given the bizarre choice to have bigger-name Hollywood actors like Chris Pratt and Seth Rogen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the casting of two lesser-known young English actors in the Zelda movie is certainly surprising.

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

At the moment, we don’t actually know much else about the Zelda movie, though. So far, it’s only been confirmed that Sony Pictures (ironically, Sony is one of Nintendo’s main competitors in the gaming space) is producing the film, with Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) set to direct. Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary Nintendo developer who created Zelda, will also co-produce the film alongside Sony veteran Avi Arad (the Spider-Man franchise). T.S. Nowlin, the writer of Ball’s Maze Runner films and The Adam Project starring Canada’s Ryan Reynolds, is penning the Zelda screenplay.

Otherwise, plot details are still under wraps. It’s unclear whether the film will more directly adapt a specific game, like Ocarina of Time, or tell an original story that draws from various games, á la The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The Legend of Zelda movie will hit theatres on May 7, 2027. In related news, a recently discovered Nintendo filing points to the existence of a Donkey Kong film from The Super Mario Bros. Movie maker Universal. Presumably, that will be an animated picture from Illumination, the Universal-owned studio behind the Mario movie.

Image credit: Nintendo

Source: Nintendo