Kingdom Hearts is nearly two decades old at this point, and so much of its charm has come from providing a new look at the nearly century-old catalog of Disney. Disney has definitely not slowed down during the time since the original Kingdom Hearts was released, however. A fan-favorite part of Kingdom Hearts 3 was getting to explore some of the newer properties from Disney and Pixar, with Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Toy Story featuring. The next Kingdom Hearts game has a huge wealth of both Disney and Pixar worlds to pull from alongside the possibility of branching out into some of the other properties that are now owned by Disney.
Disney makes up half of the DNA that's made Kingdom Hearts as popular as it is today. A lot of the appeal of Kingdom Hearts comes from nostalgia, but there are a lot of newer properties that could make for excellent worlds for Sora and his friends to explore. Newer movies like Raya and the Last Dragon, Onward, Luca, and Moana all feature casts of colorful characters and worlds brimming with magic and adventure that could translate incredibly well to the Kingdom Hearts format. That is without even mentioning the wealth of properties that fall under the Disney umbrella with Marvel and Star Wars, showing just how much potential a sequel would have.
Disney and Pixar Have a Host of Great Worlds for Kingdom Hearts
Narrowing down which Disney worlds to explore in a new Kingdom Hearts is likely a daunting task. A lot of fans considered some worlds like that of Hercules as a necessary mainstay, as so many adventures have already occurred there. However, introducing new worlds to Kingdom Hearts is equally important. Seeing Pirates of the Caribbean appear in KH2 or Big Hero 6 in KH3 helped create memorable breaks from some worlds that can feel similar, like Beast's Castle and Snow White's forest. As such, balancing nostalgia in Kingdom Hearts with newer adventures will be key. The newer worlds from Disney and Pixar could also provide a lot more diversity in terms of environment, characters, and gameplay elements.
Imagining a ship system reminiscent of KH3's used to explore the vast open seas of Moana or Luca is exciting, and many of the other newer properties provide similar possibilities. Onward was already designed around classic RPG tropes from sources like DnD, which was a huge influence on Kingdom Hearts' predecessor Final Fantasy, so adapting its world to Kingdom Hearts could be a natural fit. Costume changes for Sora and the gang as they explore Coco's Land of the Dead could become quick favorites when Kingdom Hearts 4 eventually releases, and Coco could serve as a fun replacement for the Nightmare Before Christmas stage that was missing in Kingdom Hearts 3.
That same concept applies to Raya and the Last Dragon, as players could enjoy it as a natural replacement for Mulan levels now that the main story was covered in KH2. The slate of newer movies provide enormous opportunities for Kingdom Hearts, and that's before even mentioning Marvel or Star Wars. The KH prequel Birth by Sleep followed a very similar arc to that of Anakin Skywalker, and the chance to visit an iconic Star Wars world like Tattooine not only makes fans salivate, but could also fit naturally into Sora's world-hopping adventures. The same is true of the Marvel universe. The chance to see Sora fight against Thanos with the Avengers sounds far-fetched, but Kingdom Hearts has already pulled off the seemingly impossible. As fans look to the future of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, the possibilities of where Sora could adventure next seem almost limitless.
Kingdom Hearts 4 hasn't been confirmed to be in development.