Disney Remembers It Owns ‘Kingdom Hearts’ Franchise, Finally Greenlights Anime Series

More than two decades after Disney’s first attempt at a Kingdom Hearts animated series was quietly shelved, the company is heading back into the franchise’s sprawling collection of interconnected worlds, this time with an anime twist.

Announced at D23, Kingdom Hearts (working title) is an original anime series being developed for Disney Channel and Disney+ in partnership with Square Enix. Franchise creator Tetsuya Nomura and members of the games’ creative team are contributing to the project, but Disney has not revealed other details such as the animation studio, creative leadership, voice cast, or release date.

Among the early details, the company did explain that rather than adapting a specific narrative arc from the games, the new series will tell an original story, expanding the franchise’s universe while bringing back established characters.

“Kingdom Hearts has captivated gamers everywhere with its unique blend of adventure and imagination,” said Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis. She added that the involvement of Nomura and his collaborators will ensure the show is “unmistakably Kingdom Hearts.”

While Disney is billing the project as the franchise’s first original television series, it is not the company’s first attempt at turning the games into a show. Shortly after the original Kingdom Hearts launched in 2002, Disney commissioned a pilot directed by Seth Kearsley (Dilbert, Eight Crazy Nights). The proposed 2D series never moved forward, and its pilot became fan-community lore before Kearsley posted the long-lost animatic online in 2022.

Kearsley said the animatic tested extremely well with children but was shelved anyway. The pilot, conceived as the show’s seventh episode, placed Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the world of Aladdin. Kearsley rewrote its original script after deciding that it felt more like an Aladdin episode populated by Kingdom Hearts characters than a proper entry in the game’s universe.

Created by Disney and Square Enix, the Kingdom Hearts game series has shipped more than 39 million units worldwide since its 2002 debut. The new show joins Disney+’s growing animated slate, which also includes the upcoming Messi and the Giants, Warrior Cats, and Journey.