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We could still be a ways off from playing Kingdom Hearts 4, but fans are already concerned about where its story will end up following the release of Disney's latest animated film.
Last week marked the release of Disney's 62nd movie, Wish, which was developed as part of the company's 100th-year anniversary celebrations. So far, the film has received a mixed response, but the biggest takeaway is that it might be setting up a Disney multiverse.
The animation features a number of references to the studio's previous works including nods to Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Zootopia, and more (thanks, Kotaku), and suggests that all of the Disney universes are connected in some way.
This has set off alarm bells for Kingdom Hearts fans since the entire concept of the series follows Sora, and his pals Donald and Goofy, as they set off on adventures to various Disney-themed worlds - which exist mostly separately from each other. One of the biggest rules the trio has to follow is not to mess with the world order in the places they're visiting, meaning residents can't know that a world exists beyond their own.
After one viewer shared some of Wish's plot online, several fans began to question what this would mean for Kingdom Hearts' future timeline. As if it wasn't already intricate enough. "BUT HOW WILL THIS AFFECT KINGDOM HEARTS?" One player asked on Twitter. "How is Wish going to work within the Kingdom Hearts universe?" another has said.
Other responses feature jokes about how Kingdom Hearts' director (who is seen as the mastermind of the game's complex narrative), Tetsuya Nomura, would react to watching Wish for the first time - which has been the highlight of this whole discussion.
Nomura when Disney tries to show up and pitch incorporating Wish into Kingdom Hearts worldbuilding pic.twitter.com/RKYSNKOeR7November 22, 2023
Tetsuya Nomura watching Wish, knowing he's going to have to figure out some way to make the plot of this movie canon in the Kingdom Hearts timeline pic.twitter.com/0WGZ6aNX1ONovember 28, 2023
I don't think we need to panic about the future of the Kingdom Hearts timeline yet, mostly because the references in Wish really are little more than nods to the company's history. In an interview with Total Film, Wish's co-writer and head of Disney Animation, Jennifer Lee, commented on the multiverse theories, revealing: "With the Easter eggs to me it was more about, not even like a multi-universe, but more about what we all share."
More importantly, if Tetsuya Nomura really wanted to incorporate Wish into the Kingdom Hearts storyline, he would most definitely find a way. We just might all get headaches from trying to understand it ourselves.
Find out how to play the Kingdom Hearts games in order to make sure you haven't missed anything important before Kingdom Hearts 4.
