Australian actor Uli Latukefu will play Ganondorf, the lead villain in Sony and Nintendo's live-action The Legend of Zelda film, per sources confirmed to Deadline. Latukefu has also signed a multi-picture deal for the project, according to the same report.

The casting is the first to emerge since Nintendo announced the film's leads in July 2025. Bo Bragason will play Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth will play Link, with both roles revealed at that time. Latukefu's addition fills the major question mark that had hung over the production — as recently as 18 July 2025, GamingBible reported that Ganon had not yet been cast.

Latukefu is best known for playing a young Dwayne Johnson across three seasons of the NBC sitcom Young Rock. His film credits include Black Adam, Next Goal Wins, and MaXXXine, and he appeared in the Prime Video series Countdown. He is represented by Gersh, RGM Artists, Artists First, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. The New York Times columnist Kyle Buchanan was first to report the casting, according to Deadline.

Wes Ball is directing the film, with Zelda co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto and veteran producer Avi Arad producing. T.S. Nowlin wrote the most recent draft of the script. Sony announced in autumn 2023 that it would distribute and co-finance the film alongside Nintendo, a partnership that pairs the studio behind the Super Mario Bros. Movie box-office bonanza with the gaming giant's other flagship franchise.

That franchise is formidable. Created by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda debuted under Nintendo in 1986 and has sold more than 150 million units across multiple consoles over four decades. The property carries the kind of built-in audience that studios bank on when greenlighting a nine-figure adaptation.

Production has already begun. Nintendo's official X account announced the start of filming in November 2025, per Deadline. The theatrical release is set for 7 May 2027 — moved up a week from its original date in an announcement made by Miyamoto himself in May 2026, according to Deadline. Nintendo had initially slotted the film for 26 March 2027 when it unveiled the project in June 2025.

A multi-picture deal for a villain role suggests Sony and Nintendo are thinking beyond a single film — a signal that the Gerudo king's war against Hyrule may unfold across more than one instalment.