Kingdom Hearts Is Heading to Disney+ as an Original Anime Series
Production has begun, but Disney has not shared the anime's story or release date; Tetsuya Nomura and the Kingdom Hearts 4 art team are involved.
Disney announced an original Kingdom Hearts anime series at D23 on August 15, taking the game franchise into animated television. The project is planned for Disney Channel and Disney+, but Disney has not announced a release date.
An announcement shared by Disney on X describes the show as an original anime inspired by Kingdom Hearts. Its teaser art centers on Sora and the Keyblade. Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix’s creative team are working with Disney on the series. In an auto-translated message shared by the Japanese Kingdom Hearts account, Nomura said production had begun and that he had been working closely with the scenario team, while the Kingdom Hearts 4 art team created several new character designs specifically for the series. He encouraged fans to “let your imaginations run wild” while waiting for more information and said the single piece of key art revealed so far contains a hint about the project, though he did not explain what it means. The show’s story and specific production details remain unannounced.
More Kingdom Hearts news is scheduled for D23
The anime reveal came alongside news that Kingdom Hearts 4 will visit the Land of the Dead from Coco. The sequel is planned for late 2027 and will launch day one on Nintendo Switch 2. Fans already had a new Kingdom Hearts 4 date to watch for: the franchise’s dedicated D23 panel is scheduled for August 15. Disney has not confirmed whether that session will discuss the anime or the next game.
A D23 showcase trailer offered the first footage of the Coco setting. Square Enix had also shown new gameplay from Kingdom Hearts 4 earlier in the summer, marking the first gameplay reveal in four years.
The timing also follows Disney’s statement that Kingdom Hearts was one of nine Disney game series to pass $1 billion at retail. For now, the anime is the clearest sign that Disney and Square Enix are taking the series beyond its game releases, even though the show’s characters, plot, and format remain unannounced.
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