Kingdom Hearts 4 announced, and some think it's hinting at a Star Wars crossover

Over the weekend, Square Enix surprise-announced Kingdom Hearts 4, the next big game in their incomprehensible RPG series which stars Disney cartoon characters as pop-punk boyband multiverse superheroes. I am mildly distressed to see KH4 lean towards a ‘realistic’ art style in parts, though I would be curious to see a Kingdom Hearts Mickey Mouse that’s just a wee mouse wrapped in leather, plaid, buckles, and zips. While KH4 is largely a mystery for now, eagle-eyed viewers think the announcement trailer hints at a crossover with the Disney Princess world of Star Wars.

Jump to 4:04 in the trailer to skip past several mobile games and get straight to the Kingdom Hearts IV announcement. Then I’ll turn you over to Square Enix for the official blurb:

“In the announcement trailer, 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 in the Kingdom Hearts series. Fans will be excited to see the return of Sora’s well-known companions Donald and Goofy, in addition to the first appearance of Strelitzia, a mysterious new character who appears before Sora in this strange new setting.”

And yes, some people believe Star Wars is involved this time. In the early scenes which skip between the city and the forest, for a few frames you can see a grey lump, which some say is the foot of an AT-ST. You know, the robot chickens that Jim Kirk and his tribble army fought on the forest moon of Endor. While this could be just some metal, I would not be at all surprised if KH4 does cross over with Star Wars.

Kingdom Hearts is a collision of everything Disney, over the years busting into worlds and characters from Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, A Nightmare Before Christmas, Monsters Inc, The Lion King, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Wreck-It Ralpha, Big Hero 6, and oh so many more. It even has special attacks based on Disney theme park rides. Star Wars wouldn’t be out of place in KH4, nor would this be out of character for how Disney treat that gutter of a series.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Marvel superheroes at some point in this new storyline either. Hell, Squeenix have even borrowed from Marvel’s playbook. When KH3 wrapped a story which had run for 17 years, a post-credits teaser immediately set up this sequel. Classic Marvelling.

No word on platforms or a release date for Kingdom Hearts 4. Presumably it’ll hit PlayStation first, then hopefully come to Steam later, seeing as we finally got the series in 2021.