Kingdom Hearts 20th-anniversary event, which featured a debut trailer with early gameplay footage and plenty of stunning visuals but few overt indications of what players can expect. Unsurprisingly, fans quickly got to work breaking down every frame of the trailer, sharing their findings and resulting theories on Twitter.
One discovery in particular has garnered an incredible amount of hype, and indicates that Star Wars could play a role in Kingdom Hearts 4. Among the exciting gameplay of Sora fighting a giant heartless and the stunning cityscape world of Quadratum, the trailer cuts to shots of a lush, verdant forest - which appears to contain an AT-ST from Star Wars. Only the Star Wars vehicle's foot is seen in KH4's trailer, but the ever-thorough Star Wars community has matched it to well-documented models and images. One theory suggests that the shots in question are set on the Forest Moon of Endor, where AT-ST walkers appear in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
While nobody can definitively confirm that the object in question is an AT-ST, Star Wars settings or characters appearing in Kingdom Hearts is a legitimate possibility. While early Kingdom Hearts games only featured Disney properties from its main animation studio such as Hercules and The Lion King, Disney opened up the franchise to Pixar crossovers for Kingdom Hearts 3 and could very well take a similar step with Star Wars. The specifics of this potential inclusion remain to be seen, as the Star Wars universe is vast, leaving questions as to which characters may appear in the game.
Original Trilogy Star Wars Characters Possibly In Kingdom Hearts 4
While the events of Kingdom Hearts are hardly canon for their crossover franchises, it seems likely that a Star Wars crossover would preserve some semblance of continuity by including characters from the same era. The obvious option is the original trilogy - it features Star Wars' most iconic characters and imagery. While the most straightforward reading of the teaser suggests players may see Sora, Donald, and Goofy teaming up with Leia, Han, and the rebel alliance on Endor, the original trilogy is full of characters and settings that could be adapted as per the license agreement. Recently, LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga shows numerous characters are on the table for canon-bending hi-jinks; perhaps the game's protagonists would Luke in his training under Yoda on Dagobah.
Another pair of appealing Star Wars characters for Kingdom Hearts 4 is R2-D2 and C3P0. The comedic pair of droids would be a good fit for one of Kingdom Hearts' crossover worlds and serve as comic relief among the franchise's dense plot. As the only two characters to appear in all nine main Star Wars films, these two could feasibly appear alongside characters from any era, though their most iconic moments are found in the original trilogy.
Kingdom Hearts has never shied away from Disney villains, either - the trailer even teased the return of Hades. It could be interesting to see Emperor Palpatine , or even lead, a rebuilt band of Disney villains. Darth Vader may even make an appearance - though adding Kingdom Hearts characters to Vader's most iconic Star Wars scene could easily weaken it.
Sequel & Prequel Star Wars Characters Possibly In Kingdom Hearts 4
Of course, Square Enix's options for Star Wars characters extend beyond the original trilogy; theoretically, any Star Wars character could appear in Kingdom Hearts 4. Disney may want to give more screen time to the franchise's newer characters - as such, appearances from the sequel trilogy are very much a possibility. Despite the poor reception of the final film in their story, Rey, Finn, Rose, Poe, and BB-8 are likable and recognizable heroes who could serve as a compelling piece of Kingdom Hearts 4's adventure.
Character inclusions beyond these seem a fair bit less likely. Unlike other games which are wholly Star Wars and can include huge lists with numerous obscure characters, like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Star Wars will likely be only a part of Kingdom Hearts 4. Characters from the prequel trilogy could show up - Obi-Wan is popular enough to get his own spinoff show - but the prequels aren't as iconic or as beloved as the original trilogy. Jar Jar Binks, Mace Windu, or Qui-Gon Jinn appearing would certainly come as a shock, and Coruscant, the most recognizable planet from the three prequels, has a similar metropolitan aesthetic to the trailer's Quadratum.
The Mandalorian Could Also Come To Kingdom Hearts 4
And if those odds aren't slim enough, characters from outside the main movie trilogies have an even lower chance. While The Mandalorian has been an overwhelming success, the series is for a different core audience than Kingdom Hearts. As with the prequels, Mandalorian characters better fit Star Wars games. The majority of the Kingdom Hearts's playerbase will be likely familiar with the previous entries into the series, and while some may certainly be dedicated fans of both those games and Star Wars, characters from the Star Wars films will resonate more with general audiences than those from Disney+ series (save for maybe Grogu - if he showed up in Kingdom Hearts 4 the internet might just break).
Ultimately, the Star Wars characters that players will encounter in Kingdom Hearts 4 remain to be seen. Star Wars' inclusion in the game isn't even confirmed yet - though it certainly does seem likely. It would certainly be fun to see Donald Duck fight Darth Vader, or Leia interacting with various Disney princesses, and based on the excitement that the possibility of Star Wars in Kingdom Hearts has generated, it seems like it would be a smart move for both Disney and Square Enix. It's clear that Disney is still holding strong to Kingdom Hearts, and has potentially allowed for even more licensed characters than previous games in the series. Kingdom Hearts 3's Toy World and Monstropolis, worlds based on Pixar properties, may have only been the beginning. But even without any expanded license agreements, the series has long included some of Disney's most recognizable characters to great success. Based on everything that's been shown so far, Kingdom Hearts 4 will certainly do the same - with or without Star Wars.
