Kingdom Hearts Anime Series Coming to Disney+ and Disney Channel, Made in Partnership with Creator Tetsuya Nomura
Disney announced a Kingdom Hearts animated series for Disney+ and Disney Channel, plus a new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer with a late 2027 release window.
After 24 years of the Kingdom Hearts franchise and previous adaptation attempts that were quietly abandoned, Disney has officially greenlit an animated anime series based on the beloved action-RPG — and it will air on both Disney+ and Disney Channel. The announcement came at Disney's D23 event, where the company also unveiled a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4, revealing the game's first confirmed world and narrowing its release window to late 2027. Kingdom Hearts launched in 2002 as a crossover between Square Enix's Final Fantasy universe and Disney's roster of animated characters, and has since grown into a sprawling franchise with over a dozen titles. Despite its devoted fanbase and long-running speculation about a TV adaptation, no series had ever moved past early development — until now. The anime series will be the franchise's first-ever screen adaptation. Disney has confirmed it is partnering directly with Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura and the creative team at Square Enix on the project. The show will feature a brand-new story designed to expand the Kingdom Hearts universe while celebrating its beloved characters. Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis described the series as 'unmistakably Kingdom Hearts' while offering fans 'a whole new way to experience the world they love.' No episode count, premiere date, or main cast has been announced yet. The show's arrival on both Disney+ and linear Disney Channel suggests the company is positioning it to reach both streaming and traditional broadcast audiences simultaneously. The D23 announcements packaged the series reveal alongside the Kingdom Hearts 4 game update, signaling Disney's broader push to expand the franchise across multiple platforms at once.
Why it matters
Kingdom Hearts has a global fanbase built over two decades, and a Disney+ animated series would be its first-ever screen adaptation, potentially introducing the franchise to a much wider audience. The simultaneous Kingdom Hearts 4 announcement suggests Disney is making a coordinated, large-scale bet on the IP.
What's next
Kingdom Hearts 4 is targeting a late 2027 release window; further details on the animated series — including cast, episode count, and premiere date — have not yet been announced.
Key facts
- An animated Kingdom Hearts series has been confirmed for both Disney+ and Disney Channel
- This is the first-ever screen adaptation of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, which launched in 2002
- Previous attempts at a Kingdom Hearts adaptation were reportedly scrapped before this announcement
- A new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer debuted at D23, revealing the game's first confirmed world
- Kingdom Hearts 4 was given a late 2027 release window
- The announcements were made at Disney's D23 fan event
Bias & framing notes
Sources broadly agree on the core facts. Variety, Deadline, and IGN provide the most straightforward reporting, while Screen Rant emphasizes the 24-year wait and scrapped prior attempts for added drama. Gizmodo leads with fan sentiment rather than hard news framing. Metro.co.uk focuses more on Kingdom Hearts 4 game details than the series announcement. No sources conflict on the established facts.
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