Disney unveils new Kingdom Hearts anime series
At its D23 fan event, Disney announced a new anime series set in the world of its Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, coming soon to Disney+ and Disney Channel. The company also showed a brief glimpse of the upcoming game Kingdom Hearts IV.
Disney used its annual D23 fan event to reveal that it is developing a new anime series based on the popular Kingdom Hearts video game franchise. The project is set to arrive soon on the Disney+ streaming platform as well as on Disney Channel.
The company has not shared many plot details yet, but said the series will tell a brand-new story that expands on the franchise's history so far while still honoring the characters fans know from the games. A teaser for the anime shows the silhouette of a character some fans believe may not be Sora, the games' usual protagonist. Whoever the figure turns out to be, they wield a keyblade, and viewers can expect to see familiar Disney characters appear throughout the show.
Given that the anime centers on an original story, some fans may worry about how closely it will follow the games. Disney addressed this by noting that the series was developed together with Tetsuya Nomura, the director and character designer of the Kingdom Hearts games, along with the creative team at Square Enix.
A look ahead at Kingdom Hearts IV
Alongside the anime announcement, Disney also gave D23 attendees a brief preview of Kingdom Hearts IV, which will include a setting inspired by Pixar's Coco. Square Enix intends to release the next mainline game in the franchise in late 2027.
