Back in 2002, a new RPG delivered a major surprise to fans with a crossover no one could have predicted when Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company released Kingdom Hearts. Combining the library of Disney’s characters and worlds with Final Fantasy characters into an action-RPG sounds like a bizarre idea on paper, but in execution it really, really worked. The series took off like a rocket and delivered a slew of sequels, spinoffs, and more, with fans more eager than ever for a return to the series. Though the upcoming Kingdom Hearts IV is confirmed, Disney just revealed that it’s not the only thing fans can expect from the franchise.
In a move that fans have been waiting on for literal decades, The Walt Disney Company has confirmed that the Kingdom Hearts video games will finally make the leap into a new medium. Straight from the D23 Expo stage came the reveal that a Kingdom Hearts TV series is happening and will premiere exclusively on Disney+. The only details confirmed are that the show is happening at all and that the series will be an anime. Check out the first teaser video below.
Kingdom Hearts the Series announced and coming to Disney and Disney+! pic.twitter.com/7M8DjJBAcH
Disney notably only announced the news of the Kingdom Hearts TV series, with almost no other details confirmed at all. In a press release sent after the show was revealed, Disney announced that the new series is being developed in partnership with video game creator Tetsuya Nomura and the creative team at SQUARE ENIX and serves as a reimagining of the adventure and will tell “a brand-new story that will expand on the universe of Kingdom Hearts while celebrating the characters that have captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world.”
“Kingdom Hearts has captivated gamers everywhere with its unique blend of adventure and imagination,” Ayo Davis, president, Disney Kids & Family, said in a statement. “There’s something really exciting about taking a world fans have spent years exploring through the games and bringing it to life in a completely new way. And with a creative team that is working closely with the legendary Tetsuya Nomura, our new series will be unmistakably ‘Kingdom Hearts,’ while giving fans a whole new way to experience the world they love.”
It’s worth noting that no concrete details were confirmed about the Kingdom Hearts anime. No animation studio was revealed, no writer or director is officially attached, and no details on what characters or story the series might even tell. To that end, it seems likely that this is a very early announcement, and the teaser art released along with it could very well be temporary and simply created to go along with the reveal.
Even without any concrete details, that hasn’t stopped fans from theorizing about what the show will be or even offering hints about what they want from it. One thing in particular that fans have latched onto, though, is that the show appears to be an original story and not one that focuses on Sora.
WHO IS THAT https://t.co/3K81eFUBVt
Across its history, Kingdom Hearts has touched on many, many corners of Disney’s characters and worlds. Naturally, fans will assume that the likes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy will have some kind of role in the show (how could they not?), but something that we’ll likely be wondering about for a while is which Disney franchises might make it into the show.
Games in the series have previously touched on animated classics like Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh, with later installments touching on live-action blockbuster franchises like Tron and Pirates of the Caribbean. To that end, the sky is the limit for the animated series, but there will no doubt be favorites that gamers are eager to see realized in anime form.
