Zelda fans brutally roast live-action movie 'casting' we wish we could unsee

Netflix has just revealed that Tom Holland will be playing Link in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda… is what someone on the internet tricked a few folks into believing.

Back in 2022, Dan Leveille (director of product marketing at DeviantArt) posted some AI-generated images on Instagram of a bunch of famous actors in the roles of some of The Legend of Zelda’s most famous characters.

It included images of Danny DeVito as Tingle (lowkey kinda don’t hate that idea), Emma Watson as Princess Zelda (never mind, never let bro cook again), and, most upsettingly, Tom Holland as Link.

The rabbit hole goes even deeper, though. Leveille then posted a video on Reddit of Netflix’s “response” to the AI images, which showed one of Netflix’s social media accounts doubling down on fans’ outrage by revealing posters of Tom Holland playing every The Legend of Zelda character.

Now, the response from Netflix is (much like the AI images themselves) also fake - but fans in the comments decided to absolutely roast the idea anyway.

“Oh man, I can't wait for the epic showdown where Tom Holland finally defeats the evil Tom Holland, rescuing the kidnapped Tom Holland and saving the day,” commented user Tramkrad.

Echoes of Wisdom is the franchise's most recent entry.

“All voiced by Chris Pratt, of course,” replied user TheTurtleGuy17.

However, you might be surprised to learn that, at one point in time, there was actually a Netflix adaptation of The Legend of Zelda in the works.

Back in 2021, it was reported by Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips that a live-action, Netflix-produced Zelda show was scrapped after Nintendo got cold feet.

News of the cancellation came from Adam Conover, comedian and creator of Adam Ruins Everything, who also revealed that a stop-motion, Wes Anderson-style Star Fox TV show was also scrapped.

And yes, in case you were wondering, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda film is still moving forward.

So, in case any Nintendo reps are reading this, please do not cast Tom Holland as Link - or any of the other Zelda characters, for that matter.