Anime
Kingdom Hearts: New anime series announced for Disney+
The series tells an entirely new story and is being developed with the involvement of series creator Tetsuya Nomura.
Disney and Square Enix are developing a new Kingdom Hearts anime series that tells an entirely new story and is planned for Disney+ as well as Disney Channel. No official title or release date has been announced so far. Reuters also confirms that series creator Tetsuya Nomura is involved in the development.
The announcement comes in the anniversary year of the game franchise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2027. Kingdom Hearts has combined Disney characters and worlds with original characters from Square Enix since the first game. At the center of the series is Sora, who travels through various Disney worlds with the Keyblade alongside Donald and Goofy.
No direct adaptation of the games
As GamesRadar+ reports, the new series is not meant to retell any existing storyline from the games, but to develop a standalone story within the Kingdom Hearts universe. This sets the project apart from a conventional game adaptation. No further details about the studio, director, cast or number of episodes have been published yet.
For German viewers, the most relevant aspect is the announced distribution via Disney+. Whether the series will premiere there simultaneously and with a German dub or subtitles remains open. Disney Channel is also among the announced platforms. aninew.de recently reported on the Disney Channel Japan anime programming.
Kingdom Hearts is being expanded further as a media brand
The anime announcement follows new information about Kingdom Hearts IV, which according to Reuters is set to release in 2027. At the D23 event, Square Enix showed new material from the game, including a world based on Pixar's "Coco." The anime series is therefore part of a much broader expansion of the brand beyond the existing games.
Similar shifts between the anime and games sectors can be seen elsewhere too: recently it was announced that "Hon to Kagi no Kisetsu" by the Hyouka author will be released as an adventure game. With Kingdom Hearts, the path now runs in the opposite direction, from a long-running game franchise to a standalone anime production.
Further details on the Kingdom Hearts series, including studio, release window and international language versions, are still pending.