Disney is bringing Kingdom Hearts to television and streaming with a new anime series coming to Disney+ and Disney Channel. The project will tell a brand-new story, expanding the franchise while celebrating the characters featured in the games.
Disney announced the anime on August 15, 2026, at 7:52 am EST. The announcement also showed a glimpse of Kingdom Hearts IV, giving fans two major pieces of news about the franchise at the same time.
Disney described the project as “An original Kingdom Hearts anime series inspired by the beloved video game franchise is coming soon to @DisneyChannel and @DisneyPlus.” The announcement does not include a premiere date, so “coming soon” is the clearest timing available for now.
A New Kingdom Hearts Story
The anime will not simply retell the story from the games. It will feature a brand-new story that expands the franchise’s world and gives its game characters another way to reach audiences. That makes the series a separate entry in the larger Kingdom Hearts story, rather than a direct description of the next installment.
The project also leaves room for questions about who will lead the anime. Some fans believe the character shown in the anime’s teaser is not Sora, the protagonist of the games, but a keyblade wielder. That detail has drawn attention because the identity of the central character can shape how the new story connects with the franchise.
For now, the known facts stop there. Disney has confirmed the new story, the two release platforms, and the connection to the game franchise, but the announcement does not provide additional details about the character believed to appear in the teaser.
Nomura, Square Enix, and What Comes Next
Disney developed the anime with Tetsuya Nomura and the creative team at Square Enix. Nomura serves as the director and character designer of the Kingdom Hearts titles, while Square Enix remains tied to the franchise’s next major installment.
That creative partnership gives the anime a direct connection to the people behind the Kingdom Hearts games. It also places the new series alongside the continuing game story, rather than treating the anime as an unrelated project using the franchise name.
Square Enix plans to release the franchise’s next installment in late 2027. The announcement also included a glimpse of Kingdom Hearts IV, but no additional details connect that glimpse to the anime’s story or confirm how the two projects will relate to each other.
The timeline gives fans a long stretch of Kingdom Hearts news to follow. The anime is coming to Disney+ and Disney Channel, while the next installment is planned for late 2027. Neither announcement provides a more specific anime release date or explains how its brand-new story will fit alongside the game series.
That separation may be part of the appeal. The anime can celebrate familiar game characters while expanding the franchise with a story of its own, and the upcoming installment can continue the game side of Kingdom Hearts. For fans, the teaser’s mysterious keyblade wielder adds one more question to a franchise already built around connected stories and characters.
At this stage, the biggest confirmed development is simple: Kingdom Hearts is heading to Disney’s television and streaming platforms with an original anime series. With Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix’s creative team involved, the project will carry a clear link to the games, even as it introduces a new story and leaves the teaser’s character open to debate.
