We could be getting Kingdom Hearts 4 news quite soon, as the franchise is confirmed to make an appearance at D23 next month, Disney's conference for all things House of Mouse. The series will get a showcase celebrating its 25th anniversary, because apparently my lower back pain isn't enough of a reminder of my age.
The event, simply called Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts, was revealed in the D23 2026 programme of panels and such. "Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts," reads the official description. "Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic."
From the sounds of things, it'll be mostly retrospective, with members of the old guard at Disney and Pixar providing insight into how they worked with Square Enix to turn the likes of Alice in Wonderland, Tarzan and Aladdin into compelling action RPG locations. I wouldn't expect too much from Square Enix's side of things, beyond perhaps a video message from series co-creator and longtime overseer Tetsuya Nomura.
Some kind of added tease for Kingdom Hearts 4 seems likely, though. Just last month, we finally got a second trailer for the game shown during a Nintendo Direct of all things.
D23 seems like the perfect place to show off some of the movies and shows we'll be visiting for this installment. The Jungle Book, Zootopia, Inside Out, Encanto, and Cars are five worlds I can imagine showing up, if I had to guess. But we'll see what emerges.
Although it's already been four years since the fourth mainline Kingdom Hearts installment was announced, I wouldn't expect a release window here. That's more likely to come on Square Enix's terms, since that's the actual developer and publisher. Disney is really just weaponizing the most lucrative video game venture it has right now.
Whatever the case, we're almost definitely going to hear another rendition of the anecdote about how this collaboration got moving because of a chance elevator conversation. Much like Steamboat Willie, it's timeless.
D23 is set to take place from August 14 through 16.
