News ► A Kingdom Hearts Disney Plus CGI series is rumored to be in the works

[Oracle Spockanort]

Rumors of a Disney Plus series based on Kingdom Hearts have been circulating the internet for a few weeks now. Skyler Shuler of the DisInsider has claimed that a Kingdom Hearts Disney Plus animated CGI television series is in development.

Shuler claims that the original voice actors are slated to return including Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, and Tony Anselmo. Emre Kaya, writer at the Cinema Spot, tweeted that Square Enix was tapped to create the pilot for the series on Unreal Engine and that casting for the series is currently underway.

Despite the various reliable sources confirming this show is in development, an official announcement has not yet been made by Disney or Square Enix.

Follow Kingdom Hearts Insider on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on the rumored Kingdom Hearts Disney Plus series, Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross], Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts 3 and all things Kingdom Hearts!

Thanks to mriku90 for the tip!

 

[DizneyXBirds95]

[parsehtml]<p>Rumors of a Disney Plus series based on&nbsp;<em>Kingdom Hearts</em>&nbsp;have been circulating the internet for a few weeks now. <a href="https://twitter.com/skylershuler/status/1265377359537909760?s=21">Skyler Shuler</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDisInsider">The DisInsider</a> has confirmed that a <em>Kingdom Hearts</em> Disney Plus animated CGI television series is in development.</p>
<p>Shuler states that the original voice actors are slated to return including&nbsp;<span>Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, and Tony Anselmo.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://i.imgur.com/em4Vf3e.jpg"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/em4Vf3e.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="523" /></a><br /></span></p>
<p><span>Follow Kingdom Hearts Insider on&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/KingdomHeartsInsider">Facebook</a><span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/khinsider">Twitter</a><span>&nbsp;f</span><span>or the latest updates on the rumored&nbsp;<em>Kingdom Hearts</em> Disney Plus series,&nbsp;</span><em>Kingdom Hearts Union&nbsp;<span>&chi; [</span>Cross], Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts 3&nbsp;</em><span>and all things&nbsp;</span><em>Kingdom Hearts</em><span>!</span></p>
<p>Thanks to <a href="https://www.khinsider.com/forums/index.php?threads/skyler-shuler-of-disney-insider-confirms-kingdom-hearts-cgi-animated-disney-plus-series.223050/">mriku90</a> for the tip!</p>[/parsehtml]

Well then, until Disney, Disney+ and Square Enix make the official announcement themselves, we shall take this information with a grain of salt.

On the positive side, at least the Disney+ Kingdom Hearts series will be animated (albeit CG animated) and not live-action which we initially feared.

 

[GreyouTT]

If it's being made in collaboration with SE or at least a close adaption of the games, then I'll be more open to the idea.

If it's not, however:

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Updated OP. SE was apparently tapped to create the pilot on Unreal Engine.

 

[DizneyXBirds95]

Updated OP. SE was apparently tapped to create the pilot on Unreal Engine.

 

[mriku90]

I know me wanting Haley is pure nostalgia cause he does not sound like a 10 year old no matter how many voice lessons he gets. Riku and Kairi sound the same.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

This was my literal nightmare. I don't trust Nomura on this. I trust him with FF7R, I trust him with whatever tf Verum Rex is the next KH game...I love Advent Children Complete despite the fact that it is not a good film lol, but I don't trust him with this.

I just don't. I've made a hundred different uncomfortable faces in the last hour.

 

[GreyouTT]

Updated OP. SE was apparently tapped to create the pilot on Unreal Engine.

Oh, well then.

 

[disney233]

This was my literal nightmare. I don't trust Nomura on this. I trust him with FF7R, I trust him with whatever tf Verum Rex is the next KH game...I love Advent Children Complete despite the fact that it is not a good film lol, but I don't trust him with this.

I just don't. I've made a hundred different uncomfortable faces in the last hour.

Oh...is Nomura involved with the tv series....? that's...uhhh....great....

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Oh...is Nomura involved with the tv series....? that's...uhhh....great....
View attachment 12605

If it is to be believed, SE was the one tapped to work on the pilot so...probably. Yeah. Feels rather foregone considering...y'know...nobody else at the company is going to touch KH in regards to creative direction...

 

[AR829038]

I'm still very hesitant about this no matter what I hear. Kingdom Hearts, in my mind, just cannot work as a TV series, at least not a good one. Most KH fans tend to agree that the story and the writing are among the weaker elements of the series, especially when you consider that 70-80% of the grand narrative is just watered-down retellings of already popular Disney films with original characters shoehorned in.
It could feasibly work as something intended for people who are already fans of the series, if they make it a story that's canon and relevant to the games. Otherwise, if the conceit is just to have an unconnected episodic series of Sora, Donald, and Goofy travelling to a new Disney world every episode, then I just don't see how it could realistically work.
And frankly, I'm not enthusiastic about the show's potential regarding the writing, either. I mean, we all know Nomura ain't no writer. If we take X Back Cover as an example of what we might see with KH translated to a TV medium, then frankly I'm not interested. Dialogue in the KH series blows, I hate to say it but it's true.

 

[Sonicfan2525]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't Nomura say that Disney wanted to make a movie for KH instead of being so involved with KH3? Because if so, the bit about the UE4 pilot just makes this whole thing even more plausible.

I have wanted a KH TV series for years now. Specifically an anime adaptation of the manga, so this likely still isn't what I want. But there absolutely is potential here imo. I want Square Enix and Nomura involved, but I dunno HOW involved. I also dunno if I trust Disney to hire the right kind of people to work on this. I just have so many questions and theories, because this could go anywhere. I'm excited, but i'm also scared, confused, and dunno what to make of any of this.

Can we just have a new House of Mouse series and have Sora and crew make appearances or something? Thanks.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I'm going to be optimistic here and assume that this is going to be a reimagining of the franchise. Keep the characters and certain lore elements intact but change it up here and there with the story so that it's more fitting for streaming.

It also makes sense from a business perspective to differentiate the lore of games from the lore of this potential Disney+ series. Diversification is the name of the game for these intellectual properties and Kingdom Hearts is no stranger to that. They already have a manga series that deviates from the games so it wouldn't be the first time we had an alternate Kingdom Hearts depiction.

 

[Launchpad]

They're casting? God I hate my agent.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

Watch it turn out Nomura hasn't been told about this.

 

[Ryuman]

I'm surprised that (so far) this seems to be the best way they could be doing this. Of course there's still an incredible amount of unknowns and I'll continue to be generally apprehensive about the idea, but I'm more open to it than I thought I would be.

 

[Absent]

This reads more like bad news than good news to me. Hopefully it’s a rumor, because I simply have no confidence in Nomura handling an animated series.

 

[Zettaflare]

Was hoping for traditional animation if true. Oh well.

Guess I need to know what the adaptation would be about before getting excited. Whether it's a reimagining or a side story to the game series

 

[blank points]

Yeah, I am very torn on this. On the one hand, it would be cool if only just to see what a reimagining of the series could be, and maybe a chance to tell the story in a less convoluted way. On the other hand, I agree with others that KH probably would not work well as a television series. I guess we will have to wait and see how things go.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

This reads more like bad news than good news to me. Hopefully it’s a rumor, because I simply have no confidence in Nomura handling an animated series.

If he has en editor for the animated series, maybe it can be medium with better storytelling