We’re less than a year away from Sony’s long-awaited and highly anticipated Nintendo adaptation, The Legend of Zelda, and we know basically nothing. Sure, the companies got ahead of the game by announcing the casting of the film’s two leads along with a few images, but beyond that, everything has been buttoned up like a Master Sword in the stone. Those secrets should start pouring out soon, though, and now we may have one of the first.
According to New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan, Uli Latukefu plays the role of Ganondorf in the film. Ganon, of course, is the main villain of the Zelda franchise, so his being in the film makes sense. But who played him and what Zelda story the film would be telling was still up for debate.
io9 reached out to Sony about the casting, but the studio didn’t have a comment.
It’s pretty fantastic casting, though. Latukefu is probably best known for playing Dwayne Johnson on the short-lived but incredibly underrated NBC series Young Rock. Basically, Latukefu was playing The Rock as he grew into his wrestling stardom, so think about the physicality and charisma that had to entail.
He also teamed up with Johnson for a small role in Black Adam, played a leading role in Taika Waititi’s soccer film Next Goal Wins, and had smaller roles in Alien: Covenant as well as MaXXXine. He’s a very formidable and versatile young actor and, under what is presumably a lot of prosthetics, will be an imposing force for the hero, Link.
Directed by Wes Ball and starring Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason, The Legend of Zelda is currently set for release on April 30, 2027, unofficially kicking off next summer’s blockbuster season. We hope it delivers in ways that The Super Mario Bros. movies could not.
Update: This story was updated after publication with Sony’s response to our inquiry.
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