The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has unseated Super Mario Odyssey as the highest-rated Nintendo game ever made. Although both games read 97 on the site, OpenCritic has clarified that it actually rounds to the nearest whole number, with Tears of the Kingdom a low 97 while Mario Odyssey is actually a high 96.
By critical consensus, Zelda is actually a bigger franchise than Mario. And if Mario can make Nintendo a billion dollars at the box office, one would assume that means Zelda could do the same.
In an interview with Polygon, Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma said he was certainly "interested" in a Zelda movie, but that it wasn't just his opinion that could make such a film happen.
"I have to say, I am interested. For sure," he said. "But it’s not just me being interested in something that makes things happen, unfortunately."
"Maybe the voice of the fans is what’s important here," added game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi. So, if you want a Zelda movie, you're going to have to make sure Nintendo knows. Maybe suggest a few big-name actors to play Link and also Hunter Schafer in the role of Zelda.
And with Tears of the Kingdom already off to a great start, it should come as no surprise that Fujibayashi already has plans for the next Zelda game. When asked if there were some ideas that didn't make it into Tears of the Kingdom but might come in a potential sequel, Fujibayashi coyly replied: "I have a few in mind, but I’m not sure if I can share them here."
"Yeah, no, that would cause trouble for me. So please don’t," Aonuma added.
We might not know what those ideas are, but we can rest assured that the next Zelda game is probably going to iterate on the success of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Speaking to Game Informer, Aonuma said it was "fair to say" that the two latest entries into the Zelda franchise have "created a new kind of format for the series to proceed from."
On the other hand, maybe Nintendo will want to rethink just how openly creative the next Zelda will be. Less than 24 hours after Tears of the Kingdom arrived with its Ultrahand ability, someone used Link's fusion powers to create a crude caricature. You can see the statue’s flaming apparatus in our previous coverage, but be warned, it’s definitely not safe for work.