Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who plays Link in the upcoming live-action The Legend of Zelda movie, says he did not play Breath of the Wild when it first released in 2017. In comments reported by multiple outlets, Ainsworth explains that he was “quite young” at the time and did not have a Nintendo Switch, so he mainly watched other people play instead—such as through gamers’ playthroughs. One source notes that Ainsworth was born in September 2008, meaning he would have been about eight years old when Breath of the Wild and the Switch launched in March 2017, which he describes as the reason he could not access the game then. Since being cast, Ainsworth has said he has gone back to revisit the series and learn about its “legacy and history,” citing its variety of tones, stories, and performances. The sources also state that the live-action film is scheduled to release in theaters on April 30, 2027. They add that, depending on how the movie handles Zelda’s timeline and mythology, Breath of the Wild may or may not be directly relevant to the film’s storyline, though the movie is expected to draw from multiple entries in the franchise.