They say that any movie is only as good as its villain — and by that metric, it looks like Wes Ball is gunning for an all-timer with his upcoming live-action The Legend Of Zelda movie. Just over a year after the Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes filmmaker’s cinematic trip to Hyrule cast youngsters Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as its Zelda and Link, and a good nine months on from our first official look at Nintendo and Sony’s fantasy epic, Deadline is reporting that Australian actor Uli Latukefu has landed the role of iconic villain Ganondorf in Ball’s film. And that may not quite be the whole story either…
According to Deadline‘s sources, Latukefu appears to have inked a multi-picture deal for The Legend Of Zelda, suggesting that our first live-action adventure in the beauteous realm of Hyrule almost certainly won’t be our last — which would align with as-yet-unfounded murmurings that this could be the first film in a planned Zelda trilogy from Ball. As for the casting itself then, well, it’s massively exciting news. A relatively low-profile but very talented actor, Uli Latukefu has been an eye-catching presence across several projects — from Alien: Covenant and Black Adam, to Next Goal Wins, MaXXXine, and perhaps most notably Young Rock, in which he plays a college-aged Dwayne Johnson. The prospect of him bringing his six-foot-five frame and imposing physical presence to Ganondorf’s all-powerful, pretty much all-evil warlock king is tantalising to say the least.
In addition to Latukefu’s casting, Deadline has also confirmed three further figures set to appear in The Legend Of Zelda — including, poignantly, Sam Neill, in what will be the late New Zealand actor’s final appearance on our screens. While Neill’s role remains unknown at this stage, we do know he will be joined by Severance‘s Dichen Lachman, who’s believed to play an advisor to Princess Zelda, and The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Yvonne Strahovski as reportedly some form of queen — or at least queen-like — character. We look forward to meeting Latukefu’s Ganondorf, and saying a proper goodbye to Sam Neill, when The Legend Of Zelda (tri)forces its way into cinemas on 7 May, 2027.
