It’s the fever dream of gamers the world over: Kingdom Hearts, the game and manga series that gleefully wrecks through every fictional boundary, may come to television. According to IGN, several entertainment journalists have tweeted out tips about a series based on Square Enix’s hit video game that’s reportedly in the works at Disney+.
The news was broken by The Cinema Spot’s Emre Kaya, who claims that Disney asked Square Enix to make a pilot with Unreal Engine, and that the series will most likely be CGI, not live-action. The reporter’s tweets were later corroborated by MCU Cosmic’s Jeremy Conrad, as well as DisInsider’s Skyler Shuler, who added that the series will indeed be animated and with Bill Farmer (Goofy/Pluto), Tony Anselmo (Donald Duck), and Jim Cummings (Pete/Winnie the Pooh/Tigger/various) among the voice actors “expected” to reprise their roles.
There is a #KingdomHearts series in the works at Disney+.
Disney originally wanted to make it but that didn't work out, so Square Enix was asked to create a pilot using Unreal Engine.
This series is most likely not live-action, but CG animated. They're currently casting. pic.twitter.com/jroZXImeOm
— Emre Kaya (@Vullein) May 26, 2020
Yes, it's true. pic.twitter.com/vCBCfjHkHz
— Jeremy Conrad (@ManaByte) May 26, 2020
Been tagged in Jeremys post (which is true), so here’s what I know:
-Kingdom Hearts will be a Disney+ series, not a movie.
-It’s animated (CG)
-Disney VO actors are expected to reprise their roles (Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, Tony Anselmo)
All I know. https://t.co/UTFGqXtSP6
— Skyler Shuler (@SkylerShuler) May 26, 2020
As Kaya clarified in his initial statement, these details were originally intended to be published in an exclusive article. He decided to tweet them out instead after learning that a couple of other reporters had heard about the scoop. Which is to say no news outlet has actually published a story confirming any of this yet. Disney+ and Square Enix haven’t commented either, so take all of this news with a huge grain of salt.
Still, the Kingdom Hearts series is such a delightful mess of Disney and Square Enix mythology that we love just playing with the idea of a TV series. A bottle episode about the Secret Prophecy of the 101 Dalmatians? This can happen! And Final Fantasy VII‘s Sephiroth is there! And everyone has to go back in time to ensure that the 101 dalmatian puppies are born! And Goofy is bisected by Sephiroth in the process! But it turns out his heart is too pure and he is reincarnated as the 102nd dalmatian! And it could all be presented in a mix of live-action, CGI, and animation! None of these things would be the weirdest thing to happen in that series!
Anyway, Disney+, do it. We dare you.
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