This is what Link looks like in The Legend Of Zelda live action movie

Nintendo has revealed the actors who will play Link and Princess Zelda in the live-action film, and we bet you’ve never heard of either of them.

A live-action movie based on The Legend Of Zelda seems like something that has only a tiny chance of working, given how limited the story and characterisation is in the games and how difficult it would be to portray the gameplay experience without it just seeming like a generic fantasy film.

An animated film seems like it would’ve been a much better choice, especially given how successful The Super Mario Bros. Movie was, but Nintendo has made its decision, and now it’s locked down the two actors for the main roles.

They’re very young and not very experienced, but the photos you see here seem to be them in costume or at least are meant to be reminiscent of their appearance in the games. Although predictably, Link is not wearing a massively long, green hat.

Link will be played by English actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who is just 16. His most notable role is in Netflix horror show The Haunting of Bly Manor, as Miles Wingrave.

Princess Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason, who is 21 but doesn’t even have a proper IMDB entry yet. She’s also English and her main credits so far are for Renegade Nell and BBC crime drama The Jetty.

That gives an indication of the sort of accents and tone Nintendo is going for, as it follows the lead of most fantasy shows, where they try to avoid obviously American accents. Of course, in the games Link never speaks, but we very much doubt that’ll be the case in the film.

Ainsworth is so young that it raises the question of whether he’s going to be the only Link in the film. In the classic Ocarina Of Time, you famously control Link as a child and then as a young adult, and while there’s no indication the movie will be a direct adaptation, it could be looking to reference that element of the plot.

Despite the series being named after her, Princess Zelda has very little screentime in most of the games, which is something that’s probably going to change in the films. To the point where she’ll likely come across as an entirely new character.

This is the first real information we’ve had about the film, though, other than it’s being produced by series creator Shigeru Miyamoto and former Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad.

The script is being written by Derek Connolly, who worked on all three pre-Rebirth Jurassic World films, which is not an encouraging thought. The director is Maze Runner’s Wes Ball, who did a decent job with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and is apparently a big fan of the games.

In terms of release date, the film was originally supposed to be out in March 2027, but is now due on May 7, 2027. That’s the day Avengers: Secret Wars was going to come out, until it was delayed until December.

Ball has previously said that he wants to make a ‘serious’ but ‘whimsical’ film. He’s also talked about it being ‘grounded’ and at the same time reminiscent of a live action Studio Ghibli film

‘This awesome fantasy adventure movie that isn’t like Lord Of The Rings, it’s its own thing. I’ve always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that,’ he said in 2023.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.