Given how little we know about the project at the time of writing, we can only speculate on which familiar (or fresh) faces will be donning tunics, Triforces, and Gerudo gear, but there’s fun to be had in some good old guessing.
Below, we have picked out a selection of names that we would like to see take on the roles of Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and a couple of other Hyrule regulars. With some lesser-knowns alongside the obvious picks, it’s by no means an exhaustive list, and we would love to hear your casting dreams, too. Have a read through some of our Zelda movie cast possibilities, vote in the polls, and then take to the comments to throw other worthy names in the ring.
There have been so many different takes on the Zelda mainstays throughout the years that Nintendo (and Sony) really are spoilt for options when it comes to how they cast their Link and Zelda: child, adult, cartoony comical relief, moody teenager… a dog.
For the purposes of this list, we have decided to divide Hyrule’s star-crossed lovers into child and adult categories to help break things down — even though, at this stage, we have no idea if the movie will involve split timelines, flashbacks, or the like. If the creators decide to take the Twilight Princess route and cast an oversized puppy for 50% of Link’s screen time, then more fool us…
Adult Link
Tom Holland
Let’s get him out of the way right from the jump. Yes, Tom Holland is an obvious choice, especially given the Spider-Man/Sony connection, and if we were putting money on it, this might be where our rupees would sit. He’s reportedly taking some downtime following his last project, the Apple miniseries The Crowded Room, but he’s got form with video game adaptations, having starred in the critically divisive Uncharted movie.
When we really think about it, Holland kind of makes sense. A young action man. Certified box-office topper. Could probably rock a green nightcap. Is this the safest of safe bets? Yes, but it’s the popular choice for a reason.
Timothée Chalamet
Another obvious candidate. Timothée Chalamet, the prolific star of Dune, Wonka, Call Me by Your Name, and probably five other films in the time that you have been reading this sentence, certainly has the star power and acting chops to lead a Zelda film.
And with experience of taking a beloved text and adapting it successfully in another medium, he’d be a solid choice.
Dev Patel
Take the wasteland-exploring hero of The Green Knight, add in a pinch of the charisma shown in The Personal History of David Copperfield, and we can picture Dev Patel as a very strong Link.
Yes, the actor has traditionally opted for more indie character studies than big blockbusters, but the chance to take on one of gaming’s most iconic franchises doesn’t come around all that often.
Steven Yeun
Steven Yeun just doesn’t miss. The development of The Walking Dead‘s Glenn from nifty teen to pack-leading grown man shows some real potential for what the actor could bring to an adolescent whose destiny is to protect an entire kingdom. Smaller pictures like Minari, Okja, and Nope show that he’s got more than enough charisma, and the MCU’s Thunderbolts will soon add another blockbuster franchise to his repertoire.
Not the most obvious pick, but certainly food for thought.
Aramis Knight
If we’re talking about actors that just give off Link vibes, we have to mention Aramis Knight. Who knows how big of an MCU presence his Ms. Marvel character, Red Dagger, will have in the coming years of spinoffs and sequels, but if there is a moment of respite, we are feeling big Link energy from this particular Knight.
Dallas James Liu
With a back catalogue including the likes of Tekken, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Dallas James Liu certainly has enough action experience to take on a character typically seen in combat-ready poses. Throw in the upcoming role as Prince Zuko in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation and we can see all that fighting making for a pretty strong ‘Space World’ swordsman-style Link.
Child Link
Noah Jupe
Best known for his scene-stealing turn in A Quiet Place (and, come on, this narrative writes itself if Nintendo and Sony chose to pursue the silent protagonist trope), we’d recommend checking out Jupe’s range in the likes of Honey Boy and The Undoing to see just how much emotion could be brought to Link — with or without dialogue.
Walker Scobell
Okay, Scobell might not have the largest portfolio at the time of writing (you might remember him from last year’s sci-fi Ryan Reynolds vehicle, The Adam Project), but this actor is soon to lead the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson, so we’re imagining he will have a fair amount of cultural clout by the time the Zelda movie lands. For the slightly more comical take on Link, you could do much worse than go with an up-and-comer like Scobell.
Gregory Diaz IV
Yes, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights might not immediately scream ‘Zelda potential’, but Gregory Diaz IV’s performance as Sonny has us picturing a slightly more introspective Child Link, one who understands the weight of saving Hyrule time and again. Plus, if Nintendo decided to go for a Zelda musical, we know just the guy.
Adult Zelda
Zendaya
Much like Tom Holland, we feel that Zendaya is perhaps the most obvious choice out there when it comes to Zelda casting, but she would certainly bring in ticket sales. Appearing in blockbusters like the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, Dune, and The Greatest Showman, Zendaya is no stranger to big-budget filmmaking, but it’s her turns in smaller projects like Malcolm and Marie, Challengers, and (to an extent) Euphoria that make us think she could be a good fit for Hyrule’s monarch.
Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh is a phenomenal actor and when you look at the range on display in Little Women, her reaction to chaos in Midsommar, or her cool combat in Black Widow, it’s easy to see the image of a BOTW / TOTK-style Zelda taking shape.
Putting scheduling conflicts aside (because, seriously, Pugh seems to be in everything at the moment), this feels like a winning Zelda candidate if the creators can attract her to the project.
Stephanie Hsu
After the huge success of Oscar-winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, Stephanie Hsu has been on our radar — and with good reason. Her Oscar-nominated performance as Joy / Jobu Tupaki in that film last year Blew Us Away™, and having seen her stealing scenes in the likes of Joy Ride and episodes of Poker Face and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in the time since, we want to see more.
Besides, it sure would be nice to get to see Zelda have a bit more of a laugh than the usual “Link, you must find me” seriousness.
Kathryn Newton
If there’s one weirdly long-running trend in the Zelda series, it’s the princess being possessed by the forces of evil. We’re not sure quite why this popped into our heads when fashioning this list, but we couldn’t help but think of Kathryn Newton’s fantastic turn in the body-swap horror Freaky as a perfect example of what this could look like in live-action.
Throw in the fact that she has already appeared in a ‘Nintendo movie’ (as Lucy in Detective Pikachu), and all the pieces seem to fall into place for a classic-but-creepy take on Hyrule’s princess.
Gemma Chan
If the movie chooses to stress the regal route (and we’d be surprised if it doesn’t) then you can’t go wrong with Gemma Chan.
Aside from a British accent that falls eerily in line with Patricia Summersett’s take from the latest Zelda games, Chan also manages to pack in all of the power and charisma required to make the film one about the legend of Zelda. Throw in some of the action moves from Eternals as a Hyrule Warriors bonus, and you’re golden.
Child Zelda
Mckenna Grace
Not only does Mckenna Grace absolutely look cut out to play a teenage Zelda (anyone else getting Ocarina of Time vibes?), but we know that she has the acting chops to handle the kind of drama the character faces in games like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom. The Handmaid’s Tale, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, I, Tonya — now this is an actor with range.
Cailey Fleming
This is a younger pitch, for sure, but Cailey Fleming’s performance as Judith Grimes in The Walking Dead and Young Rey in the Star Wars sequels has us convinced that she could make good on a young princess Zelda — especially when you consider the fact that the film is probably years from filming at the time of writing.
Kyleigh Curran
If we are playing to the creepy vibes that are always on the cards with a portrayal of Zelda, then we’d throw The Fall of the House of Usher and Doctor Sleep’s Kyliegh Curran into the mix. This young actor seems built for hitting a combo of the level-headed young monarch and someone who can really up-sell the creepy factor. Not that we want to see a live-action Zelda horror. Though now that we mention it…
Lulu Wilson
While we’re on House of Usher, let’s also mention Curran’s co-star, Lulu Wilson. The possessed Zelda sequences in Tears of the Kingdom give off a whiff of Wilson’s performance in 2020’s Becky, no?
Okay, perhaps a Zelda horror is off the cards, but Wilson’s turns in Star Trek: Picard and Modern Love show that she has range.
Sadie Sink
This might also be something of an obvious choice, but we haven’t seen the Stranger Things star pop up in as many projects as we would like to, and the ruler of Hyrule feels like a good fit on paper. Take the care of her performance in The Whale and combine it with some of the sass from her breakout Netflix role and that’s a pretty good mix for Zelda.
Ganondorf
Idris Elba
This is the face that we saw in those AI-generated live-action Zelda posters from a few years back, and it’s a concept that we haven’t been able to shake since. The excellent Idris Elba doesn’t get the chance to play the villain as often as we’d like and Gerudo King Ganondorf would be quite the role to change that, if you ask us.
If you’re after an imposing voice that sounds capable of raising an army, this is your guy.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Remember that one Tears of the Kingdom cutscene where Ganondorf does that crazy laugh straight into the camera? Tell us that doesn’t give off big Gyllenhaal energy.
The Gerudo King has the chance to be really scary when you know that he can change from chill and polite to losing it in a matter of seconds. You look at Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, Prisoners, Zodiac, and a multitude of other projects, and you know that ol’ Jakey excels at just that.
Mark Strong
It’s perhaps a shame that Mark Strong has played so many baddies in his career, but the fact of the matter is, he is really good at it. This would be a very different villain from the muscle sandwich that we see in Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, but we’d have time for a more calculated antagonist that takes Hyrule by careful planning rather than through brute force.
Charles Dance
And while we’re on a different presentation of Ganondorf, how about an older take? Game of Thrones‘ Tywin Lannister isn’t all that far away from what a live-action Ganondorf could be, and it might even be nice to see a villain that is just as scary behind the scenes as he is in combat (or turning into a giant pig, whatever goes).
77 years old at the time of writing, Charles Dance would deliver a more mature take on the ‘dorf, but one we’d love to see.
Winston Duke
The key to selling a take on Ganondorf is getting someone who is as believable at worming his way into the kingdom’s trust as he is in leading an army to bring about its downfall. You really need to look no further than Jordan Peele’s doppelganger horror Us, to see that Winston Duke brings this contrast by the bucketload. On the one hand, a caring father; on the other, a terrifying [SPOILER]. There’s potential for a good big bad, right there.
Tony Leung
Legendary actor Tony Leung might also be somewhat on the older end of the Ganondorf casting scale, but for a name that can put bums on cinema seats before totally bringing them around to his cause, his Gerudo could be a great way of challenging whether the leaders of Hyrule always make the right decisions.
From the charm and charisma shown in In the Mood for Love, Infernal Affairs, and The Grandmaster to his convincing antagonistic turn in Shang-Chi, we’re always advocates for getting more Tony Leung on our screens.
Now for child Ganondorf… No, not really. Could make for an interesting twist, mind, and it certainly sounds like something you’d see in a big-screen adaptation. Didn’t you know that Link, Zelda, and ‘Ganny’ were childhood friends? That was before fate split them and set them on different paths. And yet! They remain inextricably linked by the power of the Triforce and, perhaps, yes, love…
Ahem. Moving on.
Other Characters
We’ll go rapid-fire on this one because who knows whether any of the following characters will make an appearance in the live-action Zelda movie, but let’s keep the predictions rolling.
- Tingle – Micheal Cera, Jeff Goldblum, Ke Huy Quan
- Groose – Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans (anyone called Chris, actually)
- Navi – Julia Roberts, Kevin Hart, Natasha Lyonne
- Fi – Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Jodie Turner-Smith
- Daruk – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (obvs), Danny DeVito
- Great Fairy – Awkwafina… and maybe also Danny DeVito
There you have our picks, but whose name would you throw in the ring? Let us know your top choices for Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf in the comments, and also be sure to leave any other characters that you want to see make a cameo.
Given how little we know about the project at the time of writing, we can only speculate on which familiar (or fresh) faces will be donning tunics, Triforces, and Gerudo gear, but there’s fun to be had in some good old guessing.
Below, we have picked out a selection of names that we would like to see take on the roles of Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and a couple of other Hyrule regulars. With some lesser-knowns alongside the obvious picks, it’s by no means an exhaustive list, and we would love to hear your casting dreams, too. Have a read through some of our Zelda movie cast possibilities, vote in the polls, and then take to the comments to throw other worthy names in the ring.
There have been so many different takes on the Zelda mainstays throughout the years that Nintendo (and Sony) really are spoilt for options when it comes to how they cast their Link and Zelda: child, adult, cartoony comical relief, moody teenager… a dog.
For the purposes of this list, we have decided to divide Hyrule’s star-crossed lovers into child and adult categories to help break things down — even though, at this stage, we have no idea if the movie will involve split timelines, flashbacks, or the like. If the creators decide to take the Twilight Princess route and cast an oversized puppy for 50% of Link’s screen time, then more fool us…
Adult Link
Tom Holland
Let’s get him out of the way right from the jump. Yes, Tom Holland is an obvious choice, especially given the Spider-Man/Sony connection, and if we were putting money on it, this might be where our rupees would sit. He’s reportedly taking some downtime following his last project, the Apple miniseries The Crowded Room, but he’s got form with video game adaptations, having starred in the critically divisive Uncharted movie.
When we really think about it, Holland kind of makes sense. A young action man. Certified box-office topper. Could probably rock a green nightcap. Is this the safest of safe bets? Yes, but it’s the popular choice for a reason.
Timothée Chalamet
Another obvious candidate. Timothée Chalamet, the prolific star of Dune, Wonka, Call Me by Your Name, and probably five other films in the time that you have been reading this sentence, certainly has the star power and acting chops to lead a Zelda film.
And with experience of taking a beloved text and adapting it successfully in another medium, he’d be a solid choice.
Dev Patel
Take the wasteland-exploring hero of The Green Knight, add in a pinch of the charisma shown in The Personal History of David Copperfield, and we can picture Dev Patel as a very strong Link.
Yes, the actor has traditionally opted for more indie character studies than big blockbusters, but the chance to take on one of gaming’s most iconic franchises doesn’t come around all that often.
Steven Yeun
Steven Yeun just doesn’t miss. The development of The Walking Dead‘s Glenn from nifty teen to pack-leading grown man shows some real potential for what the actor could bring to an adolescent whose destiny is to protect an entire kingdom. Smaller pictures like Minari, Okja, and Nope show that he’s got more than enough charisma, and the MCU’s Thunderbolts will soon add another blockbuster franchise to his repertoire.
Not the most obvious pick, but certainly food for thought.
Aramis Knight
If we’re talking about actors that just give off Link vibes, we have to mention Aramis Knight. Who knows how big of an MCU presence his Ms. Marvel character, Red Dagger, will have in the coming years of spinoffs and sequels, but if there is a moment of respite, we are feeling big Link energy from this particular Knight.
Dallas James Liu
With a back catalogue including the likes of Tekken, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Dallas James Liu certainly has enough action experience to take on a character typically seen in combat-ready poses. Throw in the upcoming role as Prince Zuko in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation and we can see all that fighting making for a pretty strong ‘Space World’ swordsman-style Link.
Child Link
Noah Jupe
Best known for his scene-stealing turn in A Quiet Place (and, come on, this narrative writes itself if Nintendo and Sony chose to pursue the silent protagonist trope), we’d recommend checking out Jupe’s range in the likes of Honey Boy and The Undoing to see just how much emotion could be brought to Link — with or without dialogue.
Walker Scobell
Okay, Scobell might not have the largest portfolio at the time of writing (you might remember him from last year’s sci-fi Ryan Reynolds vehicle, The Adam Project), but this actor is soon to lead the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson, so we’re imagining he will have a fair amount of cultural clout by the time the Zelda movie lands. For the slightly more comical take on Link, you could do much worse than go with an up-and-comer like Scobell.
Gregory Diaz IV
Yes, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights might not immediately scream ‘Zelda potential’, but Gregory Diaz IV’s performance as Sonny has us picturing a slightly more introspective Child Link, one who understands the weight of saving Hyrule time and again. Plus, if Nintendo decided to go for a Zelda musical, we know just the guy.
Adult Zelda
Zendaya
Much like Tom Holland, we feel that Zendaya is perhaps the most obvious choice out there when it comes to Zelda casting, but she would certainly bring in ticket sales. Appearing in blockbusters like the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, Dune, and The Greatest Showman, Zendaya is no stranger to big-budget filmmaking, but it’s her turns in smaller projects like Malcolm and Marie, Challengers, and (to an extent) Euphoria that make us think she could be a good fit for Hyrule’s monarch.
Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh is a phenomenal actor and when you look at the range on display in Little Women, her reaction to chaos in Midsommar, or her cool combat in Black Widow, it’s easy to see the image of a BOTW / TOTK-style Zelda taking shape.
Putting scheduling conflicts aside (because, seriously, Pugh seems to be in everything at the moment), this feels like a winning Zelda candidate if the creators can attract her to the project.
Stephanie Hsu
After the huge success of Oscar-winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, Stephanie Hsu has been on our radar — and with good reason. Her Oscar-nominated performance as Joy / Jobu Tupaki in that film last year Blew Us Away™, and having seen her stealing scenes in the likes of Joy Ride and episodes of Poker Face and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in the time since, we want to see more.
Besides, it sure would be nice to get to see Zelda have a bit more of a laugh than the usual “Link, you must find me” seriousness.
Kathryn Newton
If there’s one weirdly long-running trend in the Zelda series, it’s the princess being possessed by the forces of evil. We’re not sure quite why this popped into our heads when fashioning this list, but we couldn’t help but think of Kathryn Newton’s fantastic turn in the body-swap horror Freaky as a perfect example of what this could look like in live-action.
Throw in the fact that she has already appeared in a ‘Nintendo movie’ (as Lucy in Detective Pikachu), and all the pieces seem to fall into place for a classic-but-creepy take on Hyrule’s princess.
Gemma Chan
If the movie chooses to stress the regal route (and we’d be surprised if it doesn’t) then you can’t go wrong with Gemma Chan.
Aside from a British accent that falls eerily in line with Patricia Summersett’s take from the latest Zelda games, Chan also manages to pack in all of the power and charisma required to make the film one about the legend of Zelda. Throw in some of the action moves from Eternals as a Hyrule Warriors bonus, and you’re golden.
Child Zelda
Mckenna Grace
Not only does Mckenna Grace absolutely look cut out to play a teenage Zelda (anyone else getting Ocarina of Time vibes?), but we know that she has the acting chops to handle the kind of drama the character faces in games like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom. The Handmaid’s Tale, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, I, Tonya — now this is an actor with range.
Cailey Fleming
This is a younger pitch, for sure, but Cailey Fleming’s performance as Judith Grimes in The Walking Dead and Young Rey in the Star Wars sequels has us convinced that she could make good on a young princess Zelda — especially when you consider the fact that the film is probably years from filming at the time of writing.
Kyleigh Curran
If we are playing to the creepy vibes that are always on the cards with a portrayal of Zelda, then we’d throw The Fall of the House of Usher and Doctor Sleep’s Kyliegh Curran into the mix. This young actor seems built for hitting a combo of the level-headed young monarch and someone who can really up-sell the creepy factor. Not that we want to see a live-action Zelda horror. Though now that we mention it…
Lulu Wilson
While we’re on House of Usher, let’s also mention Curran’s co-star, Lulu Wilson. The possessed Zelda sequences in Tears of the Kingdom give off a whiff of Wilson’s performance in 2020’s Becky, no?
Okay, perhaps a Zelda horror is off the cards, but Wilson’s turns in Star Trek: Picard and Modern Love show that she has range.
Sadie Sink
This might also be something of an obvious choice, but we haven’t seen the Stranger Things star pop up in as many projects as we would like to, and the ruler of Hyrule feels like a good fit on paper. Take the care of her performance in The Whale and combine it with some of the sass from her breakout Netflix role and that’s a pretty good mix for Zelda.
Ganondorf
Idris Elba
This is the face that we saw in those AI-generated live-action Zelda posters from a few years back, and it’s a concept that we haven’t been able to shake since. The excellent Idris Elba doesn’t get the chance to play the villain as often as we’d like and Gerudo King Ganondorf would be quite the role to change that, if you ask us.
If you’re after an imposing voice that sounds capable of raising an army, this is your guy.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Remember that one Tears of the Kingdom cutscene where Ganondorf does that crazy laugh straight into the camera? Tell us that doesn’t give off big Gyllenhaal energy.
The Gerudo King has the chance to be really scary when you know that he can change from chill and polite to losing it in a matter of seconds. You look at Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, Prisoners, Zodiac, and a multitude of other projects, and you know that ol’ Jakey excels at just that.
Mark Strong
It’s perhaps a shame that Mark Strong has played so many baddies in his career, but the fact of the matter is, he is really good at it. This would be a very different villain from the muscle sandwich that we see in Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, but we’d have time for a more calculated antagonist that takes Hyrule by careful planning rather than through brute force.
Charles Dance
And while we’re on a different presentation of Ganondorf, how about an older take? Game of Thrones‘ Tywin Lannister isn’t all that far away from what a live-action Ganondorf could be, and it might even be nice to see a villain that is just as scary behind the scenes as he is in combat (or turning into a giant pig, whatever goes).
77 years old at the time of writing, Charles Dance would deliver a more mature take on the ‘dorf, but one we’d love to see.
Winston Duke
The key to selling a take on Ganondorf is getting someone who is as believable at worming his way into the kingdom’s trust as he is in leading an army to bring about its downfall. You really need to look no further than Jordan Peele’s doppelganger horror Us, to see that Winston Duke brings this contrast by the bucketload. On the one hand, a caring father; on the other, a terrifying [SPOILER]. There’s potential for a good big bad, right there.
Tony Leung
Legendary actor Tony Leung might also be somewhat on the older end of the Ganondorf casting scale, but for a name that can put bums on cinema seats before totally bringing them around to his cause, his Gerudo could be a great way of challenging whether the leaders of Hyrule always make the right decisions.
From the charm and charisma shown in In the Mood for Love, Infernal Affairs, and The Grandmaster to his convincing antagonistic turn in Shang-Chi, we’re always advocates for getting more Tony Leung on our screens.
Now for child Ganondorf… No, not really. Could make for an interesting twist, mind, and it certainly sounds like something you’d see in a big-screen adaptation. Didn’t you know that Link, Zelda, and ‘Ganny’ were childhood friends? That was before fate split them and set them on different paths. And yet! They remain inextricably linked by the power of the Triforce and, perhaps, yes, love…
Ahem. Moving on.
Other Characters
We’ll go rapid-fire on this one because who knows whether any of the following characters will make an appearance in the live-action Zelda movie, but let’s keep the predictions rolling.
- Tingle – Micheal Cera, Jeff Goldblum, Ke Huy Quan
- Groose – Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans (anyone called Chris, actually)
- Navi – Julia Roberts, Kevin Hart, Natasha Lyonne
- Fi – Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Jodie Turner-Smith
- Daruk – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (obvs), Danny DeVito
- Great Fairy – Awkwafina… and maybe also Danny DeVito
There you have our picks, but whose name would you throw in the ring? Let us know your top choices for Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf in the comments, and also be sure to leave any other characters that you want to see make a cameo.
