British actors Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth to star in Legend of Zelda movie

The new film adaptation of the Legend of Zelda video game series will see two young British actors take on the leading roles, Nintendo has announced. Renegade Nell star Bo Bragason, 21, has been cast as Princess Zelda, while Pinocchio's Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, 16, will play the role of Link. This will be the first attempt to make a Zelda film, although the franchise previously had an animated TV series in 1989.

Bragason has previously appeared in Disney+ series Renegade Nell and the BBC series Three Girls and The Jetty. Ainsworth's screen credits include the 2022 live-action remake of Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks, as well as The Haunting of Bly Manor, Everything's Going to Be Great, and All Fun and Games. The Legend of Zelda film is scheduled to be released in May 2027.

The game follows Princess Zelda and the elf-like warrior Link as they fight to save the land of Hyrule from an evil warlord-turned-demon king called Ganon. The live-action film was announced in 2023, when Sony confirmed it would collaborate with Nintendo to co-finance the project. It will be directed by Wes Ball, best known for The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The Maze Runner. Jurassic World's Derek Connolly was previously announced as the film's writer, but the latest draft has been written by Ball's previous collaborator TS Nowlin.

The video game series has sold more than 150m copies across its multiple installments.