Disney Animation Boss Doesn't Shut Down Kingdom Hearts Movie Hopes

Jared Bush, the chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, has addressed the possibility of a Kingdom Hearts feature film, and he's not dismissing the idea entirely.

Kingdom Hearts fans were thrilled when footage of the fourth game was revealed at D23. Sora and his friends are back to battle the Heartless, who are causing chaos in the Land of the Dead. Coco's universe is an explorable world in Kingdom Hearts IV, and Sora even gets a keyblade inspired by Héctor's guitar, complete with calavera face paint to match.

An animated series based on Kingdom Hearts was also announced at the event, set to premiere on Disney+ at a later date. With these two major reveals, IGN's Jeffrey Vega asked Jared Bush if Disney has any more plans for the Kingdom Hearts universe, specifically a full-length animated movie.

"Are we ever gonna get a Kingdom Hearts movie?" Vega asked, jokingly noting that Bush basically has the power to "greenlight" the project.

"Technically, you're not wrong," Bush replied. "I'd say, I'm always excited to hear what people are passionate about. And I'd say that we have a very bright future of new projects coming out — different ways of putting material out into the world. So I would just say, nothing is impossible."

Bush's response was, as expected, quite reserved, but his open-ended answer leaves plenty of room for speculation. Given all the good news fans just received about the franchise, especially the animated show, the idea of a full-length CGI movie following Sora's adventures doesn't seem so far-fetched now... especially since Disney recently boasted that Kingdom Hearts is one of its "billion-dollar franchises."

Kingdom Hearts IV is scheduled for release in late 2027. Combat footage from Coco's section of the game shown at D23 displays Sora using the keyblade as a sort of skateboard as he chases a flying Heartless, tethered by a glowing chain. Graphically, the game looks absolutely stunning, with the endless city of the dead providing impressive depth to the environment.

This latest trailer also featured Mickey, Goofy, and the iconic king of the underworld, Hades, as well as glimpses of story beats set in Quadratum, a realistic city inspired by modern-day Tokyo — an area also shown in the game's surprise trailer during the June 2026 Nintendo Direct.

This isn't the last we'll see of Kingdom Hearts IV this weekend; the game will also be discussed on August 15 in a panel titled 'DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS at D23,' streaming at 4.30pm PT / 7.30pm ET / August 16 at 12.30 AM UK time. Disney has confirmed that it will offer a "behind-the-scenes look at the making of the games," featuring names like Nana Gadd from Disney & Pixar Games, Tai Yasue from Square Enix, Haley Joel Osment (the voice of Sora), David Gallagher (the voice of Riku), and Renée Johnson, who voices some of the Disney-specific characters.

In the meantime, stay tuned to IGN for more news from D23 this weekend, and check out everything announced at the event's big presentation at the Honda Center on August 14.