{"id":2065660,"date":"2026-07-28T13:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2065660"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:55:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:55:00","slug":"the-legend-of-zelda-movies-link-benjamin-evan-ainsworth-couldnt-play-breath-of-the-wild-because-of-his-age-and-the-lack-of-a-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2065660","title":{"rendered":"The Legend of Zelda movie&#8217;s Link, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, couldn&#8217;t play Breath of the Wild because of his age (and the lack of a Switch)"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">The Legend of Zelda movie&#8217;s Link, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, couldn&#8217;t play Breath of the Wild because of his age (and the lack of a Switch)<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">New generation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Daeron-Targaryen-in-House-of-the-Dragon.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in House of the Dragon Season 3\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Daeron-Targaryen-in-House-of-the-Dragon.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>HBO<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-28T13:55:00+00:00\">July 28, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-legend-of-zelda-movie-actor-on-breath-of-the-wild?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          3 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"0dca9783-e2f6-4ae3-b8fa-5510bbe21be5\" data-name=\"The Legend of Zelda (2027)\" data-follow-text=\"Follow The Legend of Zelda (2027)\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following The Legend of Zelda (2027)\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow The Legend of Zelda (2027)\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following The Legend of Zelda (2027)\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow The Legend of Zelda (2027)\" title=\"Follow The Legend of Zelda (2027)\"><br \/>\n  Follow The Legend of Zelda (2027)<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild\">The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom\">Tears of the Kingdom<\/a> expanded the mainline series&#8217; horizons and brought in plenty of new players, but the actor playing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/legend-of-zelda-live-action-film-link-outfit\">live-action Link<\/a> missed the former &#8211; initially due to his age.<\/p>\n<p>While official marketing for the upcoming epic fantasy movie hasn&#8217;t kicked off yet &#8211; it&#8217;s targeting a 30th April, 2027, release date &#8211; Benjamin Evan Ainsworth is playing a fairly big role in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/wikis\/house-of-the-dragon\/Season_3_Episode_List\">House of the Dragon Season 3<\/a> as Daeron Targaryen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/entertainment\/live-action-movies\/the-legend-of-zelda-movies-link-actor-couldnt-play-breath-of-the-wild-when-it-launched-because-he-was-too-young-it-might-show-my-age\/\">GamesRadar<\/a> recently had a quick chat with the young actor, and of course, he was asked about how The Legend of Zelda is coming along.<\/p>\n<p>While the 17-year-old couldn&#8217;t say much, he revealed that he remembers when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-walkthrough-guide-tips-4857\">Breath of the Wild<\/a> launched in 2017: &#8220;I remember being quite young at the time when it came out.&#8221; But he &#8220;didn&#8217;t have a Switch at the time&#8221;, so he watched playthroughs instead. When Breath of the Wild was released, Ainsworth was only eight.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it sounds like he eventually absorbed a proper dose of The Legend of Zelda history by &#8220;going back and realizing the 40 years of legacy and history, and the varied tones, the varied stories, the varied renditions and vocal performances of this character as well&#8221;. No details on what he&#8217;s done with Link yet, but he noted &#8220;it was an awesome thing to shoot&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/i-think-these-set-photos-are-telling-us-a-lot-more-about-the-legend-of-zelda-movie-than-nintendo-is-letting-on-analysis\">Zelda and Link&#8217;s casting<\/a> &#8211; plus the fact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/as-the-project-begins-production-it-looks-like-the-legend-of-zelda-film-is-following-in-lord-of-the-rings-esteemed-footsteps\">production has taken place almost entirely in New Zealand<\/a> &#8211; we don&#8217;t know much about The Legend of Zelda. Wes Ball &#8211; of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Maze Runner fame &#8211; is directing.<\/p>\n<p>While the live-action movie won&#8217;t arrive in time for the series&#8217; 40th anniversary, Nintendo has recently announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-remake-announced\">a remake of Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 coming in 2026<\/a>, so our return to Hyrule is very near.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild\">The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom\">Tears of the Kingdom<\/a> expanded the mainline series&#8217; horizons and brought in plenty of new players, but the actor playing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/legend-of-zelda-live-action-film-link-outfit\">live-action Link<\/a> missed the former &#8211; initially due to his age.<\/p>\n<p>While official marketing for the upcoming epic fantasy movie hasn&#8217;t kicked off yet &#8211; it&#8217;s targeting a 30th April, 2027, release date &#8211; Benjamin Evan Ainsworth is playing a fairly big role in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/wikis\/house-of-the-dragon\/Season_3_Episode_List\">House of the Dragon Season 3<\/a> as Daeron Targaryen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/entertainment\/live-action-movies\/the-legend-of-zelda-movies-link-actor-couldnt-play-breath-of-the-wild-when-it-launched-because-he-was-too-young-it-might-show-my-age\/\">GamesRadar<\/a> recently had a quick chat with the young actor, and of course, he was asked about how The Legend of Zelda is coming along.<\/p>\n<p>While the 17-year-old couldn&#8217;t say much, he revealed that he remembers when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-walkthrough-guide-tips-4857\">Breath of the Wild<\/a> launched in 2017: &#8220;I remember being quite young at the time when it came out.&#8221; But he &#8220;didn&#8217;t have a Switch at the time&#8221;, so he watched playthroughs instead. When Breath of the Wild was released, Ainsworth was only eight.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it sounds like he eventually absorbed a proper dose of The Legend of Zelda history by &#8220;going back and realizing the 40 years of legacy and history, and the varied tones, the varied stories, the varied renditions and vocal performances of this character as well&#8221;. No details on what he&#8217;s done with Link yet, but he noted &#8220;it was an awesome thing to shoot&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/i-think-these-set-photos-are-telling-us-a-lot-more-about-the-legend-of-zelda-movie-than-nintendo-is-letting-on-analysis\">Zelda and Link&#8217;s casting<\/a> &#8211; plus the fact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/as-the-project-begins-production-it-looks-like-the-legend-of-zelda-film-is-following-in-lord-of-the-rings-esteemed-footsteps\">production has taken place almost entirely in New Zealand<\/a> &#8211; we don&#8217;t know much about The Legend of Zelda. Wes Ball &#8211; of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Maze Runner fame &#8211; is directing.<\/p>\n<p>While the live-action movie won&#8217;t arrive in time for the series&#8217; 40th anniversary, Nintendo has recently announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-remake-announced\">a remake of Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 coming in 2026<\/a>, so our return to Hyrule is very near.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The Legend of Zelda movie&#8217;s Link, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, couldn&#8217;t play Breath of the Wild because of his age (and the lack of a Switch) New generation. Image credit: HBO News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on July 28, 2026 3 comments Follow The Legend [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2065660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2065660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2065660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2065660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2065660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}