The Kingdom Hearts series has jumped between consoles, handhelds, phones, and PCs, and if new rumors are to be believed, it’ll also be making the jump to the big screen. These rumors kicked off after film and TV insider DanielRPK stated that Disney was looking to make either a TV or film adaptation of the beloved Square Enix series. That information was then corroborated by Skyler Schuler, founder of TheDisInsider who says that idea has evolved with Disney looking to make a full-on Kingdom Hearts movie.
“While years back I had heard the idea was to do something on Disney+, more recently I have heard the goal would be big screen adaptation, but as of now, these are just rumblings and nothing has been greenlit.”
This isn’t the first time that talk of adapting Kingdom Hearts for the screen has come up. In recent years, fully voiced animatics for a canceled TV pilot made their way online, revealing an adaptation that didn’t directly follow the plot of the original game, but still had its heart and charm.
First and foremost, I want to temper any fan excitement and reiterate that these are just rumors as of now. Just because they’re spreading at the moment doesn’t mean that they’ll actually pan out. With that said, if the rumors are true and we do end up getting a Kingdom Hearts movie, it absolutely has to be animated. I’d prefer it if it was done in an anime style or something akin to the art style of the manga, but a CG-movie would be fine too. Any sort of live-action adaptation will be a complete non-starter for the simple fact that the charm of the series lies in how animated it already is. Going the live-action route would remove all the charm that makes it special.
I also think a Kingdom Hearts movie wouldn’t be the way to go for an adaptation. Visiting different worlds and interacting with their respective characters is central to the series, and even if it was only to adapt the first game, a movie would never be able to do this in any fulfilling way. What we’d end up with is a movie that rushes through one of the most appealing aspects of the series to fit a two-hour runtime. A TV series would provide more time for world-hopping and proper character development.
That being said, I’m honestly not that into the idea of a Kingdom Hearts movie or TV show. I’m a diehard fan of the series and will show up for just about anything it does, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I’d be there on day one for whatever they do. But I feel like I’m more than satisfied with the games and manga that we have now. A straight adaptation of the series for TV or film feels unnecessary and just makes me worry about how well it would be done. Sure, an adaptation could flesh out certain characters or elements of the series that may not have been done that well the first time around, as well as tease series antagonist Xehanort more clearly from the very beginning, but that’s not enough to get me excited.
If an adaptation was telling a brand new story with new characters in new worlds, then I’d be much more interested. But as it stands with the rumors we currently have, my excitement for a Kingdom Hearts movie doesn’t get any higher than ground level.
But hey, I could end up being wrong! This rumored Kingdom Hearts adaptation could be great in every way possible and I could end up being head over heels for it. Trust me, I would love to feel that way about an adaptation of my favorite series of all time. Only time will tell though, so we’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.
TheComfySpot 