'BotW 2' Sequel Trailer Teases a Shocking New Playable Hero: Zelda

The Legend of Zelda series rarely goes for direct sequels, instead preferring to jump around in Nintendo’s complex, fractured timeline of epic adventure games. But with Breath of the Wild 2 (announced at E3 2019 with no official title), the franchise will offer a direct sequel to 2017’s story. Even better, it might just let fans play as Princess Zelda along with the series’ perennial hero, Link.

The trailer, which you can watch above, doesn’t reveal much beyond confirming that a Breath of the Wild sequel is in development, but it does tease an exciting new game with a noticeably different atmosphere. It almost feels like a horror, nodding to the scarier moments from Ocarina of Time. Is Nintendo giving us Dark Souls in Hyrule?

Probably not, though that evil skeleton thing in the trailer sure is spooky. More important, however, is the short video’s focus on Princess Zelda over Link. Rocking a dramatic new haircut, the princess seems to be leading some sort of expedition into the bowels of Hyrule Castle. There, she and Link presumably unearth an ancient magic/curse/demon that threatens the castle and all of Hyrule. (We’re just guessing, but these Legend of Zelda games can also be pretty predictable.)

Assuming that Breath of the Wild 2 does let you play as Zelda, that would be a huge change for the series for multiple reasons. Beyond simply expanding the experience beyond the traditional Link protagonist, it also raises some interesting questions about gameplay. Would you switch between characters (either by choice or thematically throughout the game), or will this be more of a co-op situation?

It’s hard to imagine Nintendo making such a huge change to the Legend of Zelda franchise. The again, Breath of the Wild already represents a huge shift thanks to its open-world design. So why not go even further with Breath of the Wild 2?

We’re probably just getting our hopes up, but with the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel currently “in development,” almost anything is possible. Nintendo is still probably making major decisions about how the game will play and what type of story it will tell. And if this trailer is any indication, you can expect some major changes to the franchise, playable Zelda or not.

Breath of the Wild 2 is expected to release for Nintendo Switch … eventually.