Report: A Kingdom Hearts TV show is in the works for Disney Plus
A television adaptation of Kingdom Hearts is apparently in the works for Disney Plus, according to a number of new reports emerging online.
These reports come courtesy of Siliconera, although it’s worth noting that none of them have been acknowledged by Disney or Square Enix at the time of writing. So, we’d take all of this with plentiful grains of salt for now.
According to the report, Disney originally planned to produce the series as an in-house project, but this has since shifted in its entirety to Square Enix. Now, the publisher has been asked to produce a CG pilot-episode built in Unreal Engine 4, much like the cutscenes in Kingdom Hearts 3.
I was originally going to publish this as an exclusive article, but apparently a few other insiders have heard about it too so I'm just going to tweet it out I think.
— Emre Kaya (@Vullein) May 26, 2020
This report has been corroborated by a couple of other industry sources, adding further weight to the idea of Kingdom Hearts leaving the gaming realm and entering the world of television. We’re not entirely convinced it will work, though.
Voice actors for original Disney characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy and Minnie Mouse will apparently reprise their roles. It remains unclear if Sora, Kairi and Riku will be voiced by the same actors, or will have their roles recast.
Given how long-running and convouted the world and characters of Kingdom Hearts has become, we can’t even begin to guess how a new adaptation will work. Will it act as a sequel to the third entry or be a reboot of sorts that operates outside the existing canon?
We’d love to see it come to fruition, but we’re equally cautious about what Disney and Square Enix will produce. The joy of Kingdom Hearts comes from anime melodrama combined with exploring giant worlds inspired by Disney properties. Making the experience a passive one could certainly lessen the impact.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.