Key Takeaways
- At D23, Square Enix dropped a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 revealing its first confirmed world, a crossover with Pixar's Coco that shows Sora fighting Heartless alongside Miguel and Hector during Día de Muertos.
- The footage teases story beats like Sora collapsing after seeing ghostly visions of Donald and Goofy, and Mickey trying to free him from the afterlife. It also confirmed a "late 2027" release window.
- Disney also announced a new Kingdom Hearts anime for Disney+ that will reimagine the saga with a fresh story, sparking fan theories that the silhouetted keyblade wielder in the promo art might be Helgi from Dark Road rather than Sora.
The Kingdom Hearts franchise made a big splash at D23 this weekend with a few big reveals about the game's next installment and an original anime show that's coming to Disney+.
During a Friday (August 14) presentation for the sequel to Coco — the Disney-Pixar film following 12-year-old Miguel's journey to the Land of the Dead — Square Enix unveiled a surprise trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4. The teaser shows Sora battling Heartless alongside Miguel and Hector during a Día de Muertos celebration.
The crowd at D23 went wild seeing a new glimpse of the highly anticipated game because this is the first world that’s been confirmed for it. Elsewhere in the trailer, glimpses of the story could be seen, such as Sora fainting after seeing ghostly apparitions of Donald Duck and Goofy, as well as Mickey Mouse researching how to free Sora from the afterlife.
While no exact release date was revealed, the trailer teased that Kingdom Hearts 4 is due to arrive "late 2027."
In addition to the reveal, another major announcement arrived in the form of a new anime series based on the franchise. According to the official description of the show, which is being developed with series creator Tetsuya Nomura and game developer Square Enix, the series will reimagine "the iconic adventure with 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."
There aren’t any additional details about the show or when it'll come out, but the official image shared with the reveal showcases someone who appears to be Sora holding a keyblade with his head turned away from the camera.
There’s also a theory the character could be Helgi from Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, according to fans on Reddit who've compared both characters’ outfits.
See what else was announced at D23 in Complex's full rundown here.
