Kingdom Hearts Officially Returns August 15, Mark Your Calendars

Kingdom Hearts fans only have a few weeks left to wait before they get the chance to revisit the hit crossover series.

Disney recently unveiled the all-day programming lineup for this year’s D23 event. Among the most hotly anticipated panels on the list is the Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts, which will hopefully come with at least some updates regarding the future of the franchise and the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 4.

Kingdom Hearts Fans Will Get a Major Update August 15

Kingdom Hearts Officially Returns August 15, Mark Your Calendars

The official description for the Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts panel reads, “Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts. Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic.”

Disney’s Head of D23 Michael Vargo recently opened up about what fans can expect from the wider D23 experience this year, stating, “At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the magic never stops. From the moment the first guest walks through the doors of the Anaheim Convention Center to the final curtain at the Honda Center, every hour is filled with something extraordinary. This is where fans become part of the story, and every part of the Disney universe comes to life.”

The Kingdom Hearts franchise began with the Square video game of the same name, originally released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2. The game drops players into the middle of a fantastical world populated by original characters right alongside the most beloved figures from the Final Fantasy franchise, not to mention just about every major Disney and Pixar title.

Players take on the role of Sora, a teenage boy who is chosen to wield the fabled Keyblade, a weapon capable of cutting down the forces of darkness such as the monstrous Heartless who have begun laying waste to dozens of different worlds. Alongside the likes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, players traverse a wide variety of landscapes, cross paths with countless iconic characters, and uncover a sprawling story unlike any told before it.

In the decades since the original Kingdom Hearts was released, a further eleven titles have been released in the series, not counting the various remakes and compilation titles in between. Unfortunately, the most hotly-anticipated of these titles, Kingdom Hearts IV, hasn’t been given any major updates since a trailer for the game was released in 2022.

Square Enix released a statement alongside the trailer reading, “Sora makes a triumphant return with an updated look at the beginning of an epic new storyline titled the ‘Lost Master Arc.’ Beginning with Sora facing off in a boss battle against a giant enemy, players are introduced to the Quadratum, a large, expansive city set in a gorgeous, realistic world unlike anything ever seen before.”