Part of the appeal of Kingdom Hearts is how each title contributes to its crossover premise. It is easy for fans of Disney movies to appreciate what the series has to offer, even if most worlds’ plots are diluted versions of their source material. While most Disney worlds in the games are inspired by “traditional” Disney properties, the series has been branching out with recent installments, and the plethora of IP owned by Disney opens countless doors. Despite this, Kingdom Hearts 4 will probably stick to what the series is familiar with.
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Kingdom Heart’s History of Disney Crossovers
The first Kingdom Hearts game was released a few years after the end of the Disney Renaissance, and a decade before the Walt Disney Company’s big shopping spree began. When Kingdom Hearts started, “Disney” worlds included classic shorts starring Mickey and the gang, the Walt Disney animated canon (movies like The Lion King, princess films, and literary adaptations), as well as original works like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tron, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Pixar movies would not be included in this description of Disney until Kingdom Hearts 3, with Toy Story, Ratatouille, and Monsters, Inc. getting representation.
Between the releases of Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3, Disney made a comeback with its “traditional” movies, and began a controversial habit of buying other properties. In addition to Marvel and Star Wars, Disney owns The Muppets (purchased well before Kingdom Hearts 2), The Simpsons, Ice Age, and more. Due to modern Kingdom Hearts discourse including predictions surrounding the inclusion of certain Disney worlds, people have been clamoring for these franchises bought by Disney. Whether the requests are serious or ironic, Kingdom Hearts can either rely on popular demand, or stick with what it is familiar with.
Representation is something to consider for how well a series would fit Kingdom Hearts. Something like Fox’s Family Guy is cartoony enough, but the absence of the show’s trademark edgy content would make a potential Kingdom Hearts appearance feel empty. Similarly, Marvel characters are family friendly enough, but there are “original” Disney films that could represent superheroes like The Incredibles. Additionally, there are so many Marvel characters with countless variants that a Marvel world would polarize fans due to leaving out some popular characters. The aforementioned Ice Age, as well as movies like Anastasia, could be uncomfortable due to their history as Disney’s competitors.
Despite the controversy surrounding Disney-made films and the franchise’s own status as a pop culture juggernaut, Star Wars is one of the few series now owned by Disney that Kingdom Hearts 4 could reasonably include. The demand is high enough for a Star Wars world that it wouldn’t just feel like fan service. There is enough material to work with for a cohesive world, and there are just enough iconic characters and set pieces that a “standard” depiction of Star Wars could be created without seemingly favoring one “era” of films over the rest. Additionally, Star Wars’ fantasy elements and good-versus-evil themes make it a good fit for Kingdom Hearts.
There is no way to tell what Square Enix will include in Kingdom Hearts 4, but the new Disney worlds will most likely be influenced by modern audience’s tastes. Nevertheless, with a few exceptions, most of the non-original franchises owned by Disney are likely unfit for Kingdom Hearts’ tone, as absurd as it can get. The series will most likely rely on the “Disney animated canon” and Pixar for material, but with how ambitious certain crossovers like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can be, the game could surprise everyone.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is currently in development.
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