Nintendo originally announced a live-action Legend of Zelda movie in 2023, and there have been some key updates ever since. Perhaps most importantly, the film has selected a director. The video game adaptation will be helmed by Wes Ball, who has previously worked on The Maze Runner series as well as last year’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

The wait is still ongoing for The Legend of Zelda movie, as it is set for release on May 7, 2027. This is a slight push from the original release date that was announced, but it will hopefully provide time for the team to really master it.

Recently, casting for the two Legend of Zelda lead actors was announced. Link will be played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, and the тιтular Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason.

The Legend of Zelda is not the only Nintendo adaptation in recent years. In 2023, the company released The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which ended up being a $1.3 billion success. Now, a sequel is in development.

The two projects have some similarities in that they are both adapting mega-popular games and reimagining them for a modern-day audience. Upon the recent casting announcement, however, Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda movies are different in one key way.

The Legend Of Zelda Cast Relatively Unknown Actors As Link & Zelda

Though Both Actors Are Experienced

The Legend of Zelda movie took an incredible direction when casting Ainsworth and Bragason in the lead roles. Both actors are relative unknowns, with little name recognition to most audiences. This is not to say no one will know the actors from any past projects. Bragason was in Prime Video’s Renegade Nell, which, while canceled after a single season, developed a fairly significant following.

Ainsworth has even worked with a major producer before, appearing as the voice of Pinocchio in Disney’s 2022 live-action version of Pinocchio. More recently, he was in the 2025 film Everything’s Going to Be Great. But while both Ainsworth and Bragason are experienced, they are very far from household names. As such, The Legend of Zelda movie will catch them at the height of their careers.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie took a very different approach when it came to casting. Despite being an animated movie where none of the lead voice actors would appear on-screen, they went with a series of A-list stars. MCU actor Chris Pratt was Mario, Jack Black played Bowser, and Anya Taylor-Joy played Princess Peach.

That said, this decision was somewhat controversial for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Pratt got a lot of backlash for how similar his Mario interpretation sounded to his normal speaking voice, leading some to ᴀssert that Nintendo should have cast a more seasoned voice actor.

Whether in response to the Nintendo casting or not, The Legend of Zelda is opting against the use of A-list stars. Both Ainsworth and Bragason have the potential to become bigger stars, but it would likely be the video game adaptation that ultimately catalyzes this growth.

Link & Zelda’s Casting Approach Is Perfect For The Legend Of Zelda

It Will Allow The Stars To Become The Characters

Casting newcomers in the roles of Link and Zelda could make for a better audience experience. The vast majority of audiences will not have a clear vision of what either actor represents in their mind. This will allow Ainsworth and Bragason to really become their own version of the characters.

By contrast, The Super Mario Bros. did not really have any performances that felt entirely separate from their actors. Audiences did not truly experience Mario, but Chris Pratt playing Mario, or Jack Black putting on a funny Bowser voice.

The Legend of Zelda could have ended up more like this than what they are ending up with. Early fan castings guessed that actors such as Tom Holland might play Link. Most synonymous with Spider-Man, he would have been a harder sell as an actor to seamlessly blend in with this lead role.

The Legend of Zelda also had to consider its situation within the live-action medium. The characters are seen on screen and thus have to be able to appear younger. This is especially important for the longevity of the series, as the actors would still have to be young for a potential Legend of Zelda sequel.

Since it was an animated film, The Super Mario Bros. movie and its sequels did not have to be concerned with such matters. In fact, it was probably better that the voice actors were adults already, as it would have been distracting to have any drastic vocal changes between the two movies. With live-action, there are more physical considerations.

For these reasons, The Legend of Zelda is definitely making the right choice with its casting. Relative will allow the audience to have a truly unique and new experience that they could not get with established stars. If successful, the film will also hopefully help launch careers for both young actors.