House of the Dragon
Courtesy of HBO
On House of the Dragon last week, it was revealed that the reclusive, warded Daeron had been replaced by a body double, one handed over to an overly-cocky Daemon. Last night in House of the Dragon episode 4, we got to meet the real Daeron, one without blonde locks and instead, his mother’s dark hair color. And his mother’s hairstyle, which was…a choice.
In addition to introducing us to the real Daeron, we were also introduced to the actor, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. You may not know him now, but he has been cast as Link in the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie, where he will, in fact, be blonde. Ainsworth will star opposite Bo Bragason as Zelda, and the film has a release date of October 30, 2027.
The film is something of a risk for Nintendo, as adapting its properties into live action seems much more difficult than producing animated Mario or Pokémon movies. That is especially true for a series as storied as The Legend of Zelda, where expectations are high and everyone is already skeptical that this is a good idea in the first place. It did seem like the correct decision to go with unknown actors for these roles.
The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo and Arad Productions
We did not exactly get a ton from Ainsworth this past episode, a skittish, reluctant potential heir to the throne, bossed around by Ormund to the point where he actually has to murder an innocent guy to prove how tough he is. He has a cool-looking dragon, but still a tiny one. Now, Ormund will attempt to make the timid boy king as part of a master plan that seems unlikely to work, but this is the universe of Game of Thrones, and stranger things have happened.
If you want to see what Zelda actress Bo Bragson is like instead, you can watch a few different series, King and Conqueror, where she plays a young queen ahead of her role as a young princess, The Jetty and Renegade Nell. She’s 22 to Ainsworth’s younger 17. The Zelda movie is being directed by Wes Ball, best known for the Maze Runner series, which has given some pause. But Ball purports to be a Zelda superfan, and his take was specifically greenlit by Nintendo.
We’ll see what Ainsworth is up to the rest of this season of House of the Dragon, and whether he’ll live to the end. I have my doubts.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.