At some point, The Legend of Zelda movie will be filmed and released. It was initially scheduled for March of 2027, but it got pushed back to May that year. If that holds, that means we’re less than two years away from the movie’s release, and we don’t know a single thing about the cast yet.
We know the director, but we don’t know a single member of the cast. A recent report suggested that the fan–favorite casting of Hunter Schafer had some life, but a new rumor seems to indicate that that isn’t going to happen. It changes everything for the movie.
Legend of Zelda Movie Looking for Younger Actors
It looked all but certain that Hunter Schafer, the Euphoria star, was going to be Princess Zelda in the live-action Legend of Zelda adaptation. However, The Gamer is reporting that DanielRPK, a noted leaker in the film industry, says that the movie is looking for actors between the ages of 16 and 23 to play both Link and Zelda. He also said casting is officially underway.
Schafer isn’t old, as she’s just 26 now, but she likely sits right outside of where Nintendo and Sony will look. This totally changes things, but it also indicates that they’re trying to be age-accurate with the movie. So many films will try to convince the audience that these people are in high school when they look 30. The Legend of Zelda won’t be doing that. Zelda and Link have never really been depicted over the age of 18 in the games, so this is a breath of fresh air.
What does this mean? It means that whoever plays Link and Zelda will not be super famous. Young actors are usually not household names, and the studios probably want someone who won’t overshadow the characters themselves in the role. Sorry, Tom Holland. You won’t be Link after all.
This also means that most of the fan casts will be dead wrong. Many have predicted Schafer, Rachel Zegler, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, or Saoirse Ronan as the princess, but they’re all too old for the range stated. Zegler is 24, but it doesn’t feel like Sony wants to bring in as big of a name as her for the role.
The Zelda Rumor is a Good Thing
This is a good thing overall. While there’s no doubt that Florence Pugh, Hunter Schafer, Rachel Zegler, and the like would’ve poured in an excellent performance embodying the princess well, a big-name actress, one that’s recognizable today, can overshadow the character they are trying to portray.
For example, if Anya Taylor-Joy played her, no matter what the makeup department did, she’d look like herself and would be recognizable, thereby breaking the immersion a little bit. It doesn’t matter much, but it is nice to see that maybe they want Zelda to be recognized only as the princess of Hyrule.
This also bodes well for Link. Tom Holland is a fine actor, but he doesn’t need to be everyone, and he doesn’t need to be Link. It should also be someone mostly new and unrecognized for the same reasons. Everyone doesn’t have to have this apply (since they still have to sell tickets and get people to watch, and big-name actors can be a big help there) But the main characters will and should be younger actors most people haven’t heard of.
The Hunger Games franchise is doing very well with this. Sunrise on the Reaping‘s existing cast has both. The young tributes, including Haymitch Abernathy, are younger, unknown actors for the most part. But to buoy the film, they’ve also brought in Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, and Glenn Close.
The movie comes from Wes Ball, the famed director of the Maze Runner trilogy. He also directed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes last year. It’s being written by Derek Connolly, best known for the new Jurassic World trilogy and Kong: Skull Island. Connolly also did Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Safety Not Guaranteed. He’s joined by T.S. Nowlin, who wrote those Maze Runner films as well as The Adam Project.
Final Level
With less than two years between now and the movie’s current release date, casting news has to come soon. Movies take a while to make, and the announced cast is one of the first parts. With a ticking clock, official announcements and not rumors should be out there soon, and you can count us in as some of the most excited parties to find out who’s going to be playing the iconic Hylians.
