D23 2026: Kingdom Hearts 4 Reveals Coco World, Anime Series and Wolverine Sizzle Reel

Ryan Mitchell16/08/20265 min read

Square Enix and Disney used Friday night’s Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23 2026 to drop the biggest Kingdom Hearts update in years, confirming a late 2027 launch window for Kingdom Hearts IV alongside its first revealed Disney world: Pixar’s Coco. The same segment also delivered a surprise second bombshell, an original anime series ordered for Disney+ and Disney Channel, while over on the Marvel side, Insomniac Games used the Anaheim expo to show a new sizzle reel for Marvel’s Wolverine ahead of its September 15 launch.

Held across August 14-16 at the Anaheim Convention Center and Honda Center, D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event returned with exclusive showcases, sneak peeks and panels spanning Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and more. Amid trailers for Avengers: Doomsday and the newly cast X-Men film, the gaming reveals gave Kingdom Hearts fans their first substantial look at the long-awaited fourth mainline entry since it was first teased back in 2022.

Kingdom Hearts IV’s first confirmed world is Coco’s Land of the Dead

Kingdom Hearts IV received its first official release window at D23 2026, targeting late 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. Square Enix and Disney used the showcase to deliver three simultaneous announcements: the late 2027 release window, the first confirmed Disney world for the sequel in Pixar’s Coco, and the formal ordering of an original anime series for Disney+ and Disney Channel.

According to outlets covering the panel, the new 90-second trailer shown at D23 reveals the Coco world, Pixar’s 2017 film about Día de Muertos, Miguel, and the Land of the Dead. The choice fits neatly with where Sora’s story left off, given he vanished into an afterlife-adjacent state at the close of Kingdom Hearts III.

Combat in the new world leans hard into the source film’s identity. Back in the Land of the Dead, Sora’s combat in the Coco world channels the film’s musical heart directly, with Miguel’s guitar-powered sonic blasts and Héctor’s nimble bone-tossing feeding into team attack sequences. Visually, the Coco World keyblade shown in the trailer is built from guitars, bones, marigolds, and sugar skulls, while Sora appears with Día de Muertos face paint.

Benjamin Bratt becomes the first Pixar actor confirmed to reprise a role in KH4

The reveal carried extra weight because of who delivered it. Benjamin Bratt confirmed onstage at D23 that he will reprise his role as Ernesto de la Cruz in the game, the first time a voice actor from a Pixar film has been confirmed for a Kingdom Hearts IV world. Pixar’s own social account backed up the news from Anaheim, with the studio noting the Land of the Dead world was “coming to KINGDOM HEARTS IV, launching in late 2027,” per reporting from gaming outlets covering the showcase.

Kingdom Hearts IV was originally teased back in April 2022. The game was officially announced at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event in Japan on April 10, 2022. More than four years on, D23 2026 marked the first time Square Enix has attached a concrete window and named Disney IP to the sequel.

Kingdom Hearts: The Series lands as a surprise Disney+ anime order

Beyond the game itself, Disney confirmed a screen adaptation is now in active development. Kingdom Hearts: The Series is an original anime series confirmed for Disney+ and Disney Channel, developed in partnership with franchise creator Tetsuya Nomura and the Square Enix creative team. According to Deadline’s reporting on the series, it will reimagine the iconic adventure with a brand-new story rather than adapting the games directly.

Details remain scarce for now. No premiere date, episode count, or animation studio has been announced as of D23 2026. For a franchise that has spent two decades weaving together Disney worlds and Square Enix’s own mythology, handing Nomura creative input on a scripted series is a notable vote of confidence from Disney’s television arm.

Marvel’s Wolverine gets a D23 sizzle reel weeks before its PS5 launch

Kingdom Hearts wasn’t the only game to get stage time at the Honda Center. New footage of the highly anticipated video game Wolverine was revealed at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, during the Disney Entertainment Showcase, which was filled with announcements for projects across the Disney universe.

The Insomniac Games title, published by Sony, is now less than a month from release. In the new game, Wolverine is teaming up with Jean Grey as they stand together to protect mutantkind, fighting alongside Team X against villains like Bolivar Trask, Omega Red, Deathstrike, The Reavers, and The Hand. Marvel’s Wolverine is arriving exclusively on PlayStation 5 on September 15th, making it one of the platform’s marquee releases for the back half of 2026.

What the Coco reveal means for Kiwi and Aussie Kingdom Hearts fans

Neither Kingdom Hearts IV nor Kingdom Hearts: The Series has a confirmed regional release strategy yet, but the multiplatform lineup, including PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2 and PC, means Australian and New Zealand players should have the same day-one access as other territories once a firm date lands closer to late 2027. Disney+ already operates in both markets, so a local streaming rollout for the anime series is likely once Disney locks in a premiere window.

For now, the takeaway from D23 2026 is that Kingdom Hearts IV has finally moved from vague teaser to a game with a named world, a returning cast member, and a companion series in active production. With Marvel’s Wolverine also edging closer to its September launch, Disney’s gaming slate heading into 2027 looks busier than it has in years.