The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is scheduled to release in 2023, but Nintendo has limited the amount of information it reveals in teasers and trailers about the game's plot. However, Nintendo has given a few hints about Princess Zelda's fate in the trailers and room for speculation about what could happen to her. While some players hope for Zelda to be a playable character in Tears of the Kingdom, it seems that won't be the case given what little info we know about her so far.
Some games, like Wind Waker, let Zelda help Link more directly without her carrying the burden of being Hyrule's princess, but those games seem to be the exceptions. Even with her strength, Zelda is often put in situations where she needs Link's help to save Hyrule or rescue her from Ganondorf. From what is shown in the Tears of the Kingdom trailers, it looks like Zelda is going to fall into danger, quite literally.
Tears Of The Kingdom Draws Zelda Into Darkness
In one of the first trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda is exploring caverns with Link, although it isn't clear what they're searching for. Then, Zelda is seen falling into a dark abyss with her hand stretched out, presumably toward Link. With Calamity Ganon sealed away, it's likely that there will be a different villain, possibly Demise, used in Tears of the Kingdom, and Zelda is going to fall into their grasp.
Demise Could Use Zelda To Return In Tears Of The Kingdom
There are a few hints that Demise could be Tears of the Kingdom's villain, particularly in the stone hieroglyphic images shown in the name reveal teaser. Reviving Demise requires Zelda's soul, and one of the stone images is reminiscent of Ghirahim holding Zelda in Skyward Sword as he almost successfully achieved his goal of unleashing Demise. Link returning to islands in the sky in Tears of the Kingdom could also hint at Demise's return since Zelda went missing by falling to the Surface in Skyward Sword.
Nintendo has kept pretty quiet about the plot of Tears of the Kingdom, but it's shown multiple connections to Skyward Sword in the trailers and teasers that have been released. Although players are limited to speculation and theorizing about what will happen, most of them seem to believe that Tears of the Kingdom centers around Zelda and her divine powers. Breath of the Wild's placement on the Zelda timeline is ambiguous, but Zelda's fate and Link's return to the sky could provide context for the era during which Tears of the Kingdom takes place.
Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube