Kingdom Hearts: The Series

[Sotiris]

A bunch of Twitter insiders are reporting that a Kingdom Hearts series is in the works for Disney+.

Talking to a source regarding the projects Disney is developing:

—Atlantis movie
—Kingdom Hearts for Disney Plus

and they pointed out there are so many because of the pandemic! Screenwriters still able to work at home + wants to announce big projects to help image for stock market!

Source: https://twitter.com/GraceRandolph/statu ... 3434798080

Q: Will Kingdom Hearts be a series or movie for Disney Plus?

Grace Randolph: I believe series.

Source: https://twitter.com/GraceRandolph/statu ... 1815366656

Yes, it's true.

Source: https://twitter.com/ManaByte/status/1265296425652383747

Been tagged in Jeremy's post (which is true), so here’s what I know:

—Kingdom Hearts will be a Disney+ series, not a movie.
—It’s animated (CG)
—Disney VO actors are expected to reprise their roles (Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, Tony Anselmo)

Source: https://twitter.com/SkylerShuler/status ... 9537909760

There is a Kingdom Hearts series in the works at Disney+. Disney originally wanted to make it but that didn't work out, so Square Enix was asked to create a pilot using Unreal Engine. This series is most likely not live-action, but CG animated. They're currently casting.

Source: https://twitter.com/Vullein/status/1265356109340127238

Disney originally wanted to make this show themselves (live-action?). When they realized that wouldn't work, they had Square Enix make a CG animated pilot. Disney+ presumably liked it, as we're getting a full series now!

Source: https://twitter.com/Vullein/status/1265386726501093379

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, I’m glad SE is the one making it and not Disney. I mean, they were so restrictive with KH3 that they would somehow find a way to retroactively screw up KH1. I miss when the Disney characters were more involved with the plot...

[bruno_wbt]

I hope The Seven Princesses of Heart return for the show!

[UmbrellaFish]

Tbh I was never a gamer, but this could certainly pique my interest!

[DisneyJedi]

Well, I’m glad SE is the one making it and not Disney. I mean, they were so restrictive with KH3 that they would somehow find a way to retroactively screw up KH1. I miss when the Disney characters were more involved with the plot...

What exactly was wrong with KH3? I personally loved it.

[Disney's Divinity]

I enjoyed KH3, too, for what it was. It was definitely a beautiful game and I loved how massive the worlds were. I just miss when the Disney villains and other characters (the princesses of heart, Beast, Merlin, etc.) had involvement in the main plot of the game. Maleficent just kind of lurked in the background doing nothing of consequence. Mickey at least was a Keyblade Master. Probably the highlight Disney character moment was Donald casting Zettaflare.

[Clindor]

There are not too many original animated series projects for Disney+ (that is, compared to the live-action ones). If there’s one more, that’s nice. If it’s Kingdom Hearts related, it’s even better!

[Patricier21]

Kinda OT but Kingdom Hearts and Disney fans should definitely check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7PicTiKExo

[bruno_wbt]

I really hope that all the rumors that say that Angelina Jolie will reprise her role as Maleficent and Will Smith as Genie, are true!!!

[Disney's Divinity]

I really hope that isn’t the case. I assumed this was just a TV series adaptation of the games. The games included the original films, not the remakes… Much as I like Jolie as Maleficent and Will Smith as Genie in the live-action remakes (I don’t consider Maleficent a remake exactly, but an alternate version of the story like Wicked is to TWoO), I really wouldn’t want this mixing between the original characters and the live-action offshoots….

[Clindor]

I really hope that isn’t the case. I assumed this was just a TV series adaptation of the games. The games included the original films, not the remakes…

I'm in the same boat here. To the extent possible, I hope they'll get the same voice cast as the games.. Part of the charm of the KH games is that they gather characters and universes of Disney Classics taken from different eras of Disney history (from Snow White/first Mickey's shorts, to Big Hero 6), and found a way to connect them within a Final Fantasy context (sort of.) Imo, this charm is guaranteed to be at least partly lost if we assimilate characters with the remakes made during the past 10 years. Hope they'll preverse the authenticity of the originals

[Disney's Divinity]

I really hope that isn’t the case. I assumed this was just a TV series adaptation of the games. The games included the original films, not the remakes…

I'm in the same boat here. To the extent possible, I hope they'll get the same voice cast as the games.. Part of the charm of the KH games is that they gather characters and universes of Disney Classics taken from different eras of Disney history (from Snow White/first Mickey's shorts, to Big Hero 6), and found a way to connect them within a Final Fantasy context (sort of.) Imo, this charm is guaranteed to be at least partly lost if we assimilate characters with the remakes made during the past 10 years. Hope they'll preverse the authenticity of the originals

Yeah, the Disney-FF crossover aspect is definitely the reason the series was so wonderful to me when the first game released all those years ago. Of course, I almost wonder if Square Enix might excise the Final Fantasy characters from the story in this adaptation of the story, considering they've unfortunately pushed those characters out of the series post-KH2 and I have no idea why. The series isn't quite the same without them. I love both Disney and Final Fantasy, so...

[bradhig]

No I couldn't stand to see those princesses lose their hearts again and why bother when the game story isn't finished. Excuss me while what while I try to keep whatever blood I have left from boiling away.

[Sotiris]

Q: You think the new Disney Studios lead could bet on videogames adaptations like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or Fortnite after the success of Super Mario Bros, The Last Of Us, Twisted Metal, Uncharted, Free Guy, Sonic, etc??

Skyler Shuler: Well, to get one thing out the way, Disney is developing an animated Kingdom Hearts movie. While years back I had heard the idea was to do something on Disney+, more recently I have heard the goal would be big screen adaptation, but as of now, these are just rumblings and nothing has been greenlit. Disney may have more of an interest on actual gaming instead of developing movies based on video games… Prince of Persia and Need For Speed were both duds for Disney.

Source: https://thedisinsider.com/2024/04/24/th ... r-mailbag/

Q: Some leaks are saying that the Kingdom Hearts Movie will be live action, but other sources dont. Is that true?

Skyler Shuler: Listen, there are some “scoopers” out there [with great track records] saying it is live-action/CGI. I was told a few weeks ago that the plan would be animation. Who knows, at this point, at least we know Kingdom Hearts is being mapped out.

Source: https://thedisinsider.com/2024/05/08/th ... isneyland/

Q: Is the rumored Kingdom Hearts movie being made by Disney Animation?

Zach Perilstein: Last I heard was that this film was going to be live-action/CGI hybrid.

Skyler Shuler: Last I heard, the idea was all animated but there are some insiders who are saying what Zach heard.

Source: https://boardwalktimes.net/the-disinsid ... 88321fb149

[PatchofBlue]

Well, to get one thing out the way, Disney is developing an animated Kingdom Hearts movie. While years back I had heard the idea was to do something on Disney+, more recently I have heard the goal would be big screen adaptation, but as of now, these are just rumblings and nothing has been greenlit. Disney may have more of an interest on actual gaming instead of developing movies based on video games… Prince of Persia and Need For Speed were both duds for Disney.

True, but The Last of Us and The Mario film were all major hits, and, to some extent, so were Detective Pikachu and the Sonic films. So maybe there's hope.

[Disney's Divinity]

I've always been very skeptical about this happening, but admittedly Disney+ made it more likely than in the past. That said, as has been mentioned in the Disney+ thread, Disney seems to be focusing less on their streaming platform considering it's not really paying off well long-term as much as they'd hoped. I feel like if a TV series to this was greenlit, it might be one of the ones put down if they start to put out less streaming content.

TBH, as a KH fan, I never really wanted this anyway. I know they'd simply re-tell the first game over again and I think the game series itself has re-told that story so many times already. And I have a feeling a remake of the first game may end up happening over the next decade for PS5 or PS6, too. But still I would've watched it if they brought Osment and Gallagher back for it.

[Sotiris]

An anime series is officially coming to Disney+.

https://x.com/Disney/status/2088459950997848544

[Disney's Divinity]

I'll watch if Gallagher and Osment are involved. Too bad so many castmembers have passed at this point--but particularly Pat Carroll and Ken Page. Hopefully they let Billy Zane come back already or is he still blacklisted?

[Dis2d]

HUGE Kingdom Hearts fan, crazy it took almost 25 years to get a tv show, LOL.

Jared Bush seems to leave idea open of a WDAS KH Movie. Although sounds more like not really happening tbh, we are busy with our own thing type of reaction.


A Kingdom Hearts animated series was also announced at the event, coming to Disney+ on an as-yet undetermined date. With these two big reveals in mind, IGN’s Jeffrey Vega quizzed Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Jared Bush if there’s anything more planned for the Kingdom Hearts world on Disney’s side of things… specifically, a feature-length animated film.

“Are we ever gonna get a Kingdom Hearts movie?” Vega asked, going on to joke that Bush basically has the power to “greenlight” the project.

“Technically, you’re not wrong,” Bush answered. “I’d say, I’m always excited to hear what people are passionate about. And I’d say that we have a very bright future of new projects coming out — different ways of putting material out into the world. So I would just say, nothing is impossible.”

Bush’s response was, as expected, quite reserved, but his open-ended answer leaves no end of possibilities to the imagination. Given all the good news fans just got about the franchise, specifically the animated show, the idea of a full-length CGI movie following Sora’s adventures doesn’t seem so impossible now... especially since Disney recently bragged that Kingdom Hearts is one of its "billion-dollar franchises."
https://www.ign.com/articles/disney-ani ... ds,twitter

[PatchofBlue]

A Kingdom Hearts movie doesn't necessarily sound like something Bush would greenlight, but it does sound like the kind of thing D'Amaro would push just the same as part of some "exciting new integration of beloved stories here at The Walt Disney Company."

I'll be content with the tv series and just leave it at that.

I'm not sure how the integration of Disney characters is going to work in execution, but I am tickled by the possibility of seeing more voice work by the legends in something weightier than a Disney Parks commercial but also not a theatrical sequel taking up the spot from a non-franchise entry.