We now have an interesting update on the most unlikely of video game adaptations.
ScreenTime shared this update on Twitter, sourced from Daniel Richtman:
The live-action ‘LEGEND OF ZELDA’ movie has reportedly begun casting for the roles of Zelda and Link. The studio is looking for actors between ages 16-23.
Richtman has been sharing frequent updates on the pre-production of The Legend of Zelda movie, which is how we know the rumor mill on the project. Unlike video games, the film industry isn’t as secretive about their production in general, so Richtman is likely to have good information on the project.
What’s interesting about this, of course, is that two weeks ago, Richtman also shared the rumor that Hunter Schaefer had been cast for a role in The Legend of Zelda movie. This led to a lot of fan discourse on whether Schaefer would make a good Princess Zelda. To be clear, it is possible that she could still be playing Zelda, but it doesn’t sound like she’ll actually be the topbilled actor for the movie after all.
So, it’s possible that she’ll be playing an older Zelda after a timeskip, but we can now also consider that she was likely cast as an entirely different role. We shouldn’t have to explain that there’s no lack of female characters aside from Zelda for her to play as. All things considered, we think Schaefer could play a great Impa, of course as a younger version of that character, but the possibilities are endless to having her cast as a Zora, Midna, or maybe even an original character.
As we pointed out from reporting the Hunter Schaefer rumor, this is the casting approach that makes sense for The Legend of Zelda movie, especially if they want to make this an enduring franchise for children. Following the blueprint laid down by the likes of the original Star Wars trilogy and the Harry Potter films, Sony Pictures and Nintendo will want to cast fresh faces, and especially younger actors, to play Link and Zelda. In that way, as those actors get older with each succeeding movie, their fans can grow up with them. If the first movie hits, the loyalty that you can develop from having the fans grow up with their favorite stars reaches legendary, quite literally generational, proportions.
So it certainly sounds like Avi Arad’s production knows what they are doing with this movie. Let’s hope that the final product meets everyone’s expectations.
