Tetsuya Nomura Is Already Drawing New Characters
The announcement arrived with a comment from Tetsuya Nomura, the director who created Kingdom Hearts at Square Enix. According to the report from Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu, Nomura said he can't share details yet, but he's in close, ongoing meetings with the scenario team, the art team is pitching in where needed, and he has drawn multiple new character designs specifically for this show.
His one hint is the single piece of key art released so far: a mysterious boy holding a Keyblade. The press release describes the boy as drawn in a style that evokes Japanese TV animation rather than the games' familiar look. Nomura asked fans to let their imaginations run while they wait for the next update, which is about as close to an invitation to theorize as an announcement gets. Whether the boy is a new Keyblade wielder or a familiar character in a new design, the source doesn't say.
A Brand-New Story From Disney Kids & Family and Square Enix
The series, currently carrying the working title Kingdom Hearts, is a co-production between Square Enix and Disney Kids & Family, the Walt Disney Company division behind Disney Channel programming. Rather than adapting the games, it will tell a completely new story rebuilt specifically for the show, with Nomura and Square Enix's creative team participating.
Kingdom Hearts is the RPG series born from the unlikely pairing of Disney and Square Enix, in which Sora, the chosen wielder of a weapon called the Keyblade, travels through Disney and Pixar worlds and fights back the darkness threatening them. Since the first game launched in March 2002, the series has grown to 13 titles (20 if you count the Final Mix re-releases) and shipped more than 39 million copies worldwide as of the end of March 2026.
Ayo Davis, president of Disney Kids & Family, said in the release that the series will be unmistakably Kingdom Hearts while letting fans experience the world they've traveled through the games in an entirely new way, crediting the creative team's close collaboration with Nomura.
Looking Ahead
The announcement leaves the biggest questions open: there's no release window, no animation studio, no cast, and no episode count yet. Disney's own social post says the series is "coming soon" to Disney Channel and Disney+, and since Disney+ operates in most major markets, international fans should be covered when it does arrive.
The reveal was part of a larger Kingdom Hearts showing at D23, Disney's official fan convention held in Anaheim, California. A behind-the-scenes livestream, the DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS panel, aired on Disney's YouTube channel on August 15 local time and focused on the making of the games. Disney also used the event to show a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4, which is slated for late 2027, so the franchise has a busy couple of years ahead on both the game and TV fronts.
For now, the anime's entire public footprint is one image of one boy with one Keyblade. Famitsu's full report has the original announcement details.