Disney and Square Enix are bringing Kingdom Hearts beyond video games for the first time with an original anime series headed to Disney+.
The project, officially greenlit during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, will expand the long-running action RPG franchise with a new story rather than directly adapting one of the existing games.
Tetsuya Nomura returns to guide Kingdom Hearts anime
The new Kingdom Hearts anime is being developed with Tetsuya Nomura, the franchise’s longtime director, alongside Square Enix’s creative team.
Nomura has overseen the series since the original Kingdom Hearts launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. His involvement gives the upcoming adaptation a direct creative link to the games, particularly as the anime develops its own story and characters.
Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis said the series will bring the world longtime players have explored through the games to a new medium while working closely with Nomura.
Rather than retelling the existing Kingdom Hearts games, the anime will introduce an original narrative while retaining the franchise’s central themes and crossover between Disney and Square Enix properties.
Kingdom Hearts moves from consoles to streaming
The anime represents a significant expansion for a franchise that has traditionally relied on games to tell its sprawling story.
Since its 2002 debut, Kingdom Hearts has combined original characters such as Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy with worlds and characters drawn from Disney properties. The series has since grown into a sprawling action-RPG universe spanning multiple mainline games and spin-offs.
The franchise has shipped more than 39 million units worldwide, according to the information provided for the project, giving Disney+ a well-established gaming audience to bring into its streaming ecosystem.
An original anime story could also provide a way for newcomers to enter the Kingdom Hearts universe without having to work through its notoriously complicated timeline.
A new story could make Kingdom Hearts more accessible
One of the biggest challenges in adapting Kingdom Hearts is its dense mythology. The games have built an interconnected narrative around Sora, the battle between light and darkness, and numerous Disney and Square Enix worlds over more than two decades.
By creating a new storyline instead of condensing an existing game, Disney and Square Enix can introduce the franchise’s concepts without requiring viewers to know everything that happened across previous titles.
For longtime fans, the approach could also expand the universe with new narrative material rather than simply recreating stories they have already experienced.
Disney+ expands its gaming and animation lineup
The Kingdom Hearts anime arrives as Disney continues to use established intellectual properties across its streaming and animation strategy.
For Disney+ audiences in the Philippines, the project adds another major franchise to a lineup that includes animated and gaming-adjacent properties such as Dragon Striker, Phineas and Ferb, and Big City Greens, alongside upcoming titles including Messi and the Giants, Warrior Cats, and Journey.
The move also gives Disney an opportunity to tap into the growing overlap between gaming and streaming audiences, particularly among younger viewers who already engage with franchises across multiple forms of media.
Kingdom Hearts anime release date remains unannounced
Despite the greenlight, Disney and Square Enix have yet to announce a release date, episode count, or voice cast for the Kingdom Hearts anime.
Production is reportedly underway in coordination with Square Enix, but additional details remain under wraps.
For now, the project marks the franchise’s biggest move into long-form animation and gives Disney+ a new way to bring the Kingdom Hearts universe to audiences beyond its traditional gaming base.
