Star Wars Meets The Legend Of Zelda In Disney's Upcoming Epic Fantasy Series

Credit: ©Disney+/Lucasfilm / Courtesy Everett Collection Published Sep 2, 2026, 4:01 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The news that Disney is finally ready to mount an anime adaptation of the company's most iconic video game series could provide viewers with a compelling blend of the Star Wars franchise’s immersive fictional world and The Legend of Zelda’s fantasy quest. One could never, it must be said, accuse the Walt Disney Company of allowing a potentially profitable intellectual property to sit fallow for too long. The Star Wars franchise’s many shows, from Skeleton Crew to Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord, are evidence enough of the company’s judicious use of its most famous brands. As such, it is quite striking that the company has an iconic video game franchise that has never been adapted to the screen despite releasing 13 playable titles since its debut in 2002. An immersive crossover experience that features characters from Final Fantasy as well as a diverse array of settings and characters owned by Walt Disney Company, this series is a $1 billion media franchise that boasts dense lore and an ambitious central storyline. That's why many fans of the Kingdom Hearts games were thrilled to learn that Disney+ and Disney Channel recently ordered an anime series based on the series of games. Initially following the seemingly ordinary teen Sora as he acquires the Keyblade and becomes immersed in an eons-old battle between light and dark, the Kingdom Hearts franchise has a sprawling story that is uniquely well suited to a screen adaptation. Disney's Kingdom Hearts Series Has Been A Long Time Coming In 2026, successful game adaptations like Fallout, The Last of Us, and Arcane have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the so-called video game movie curse is well and truly vanquished. Admittedly, small-screen adaptations of games seem to fare better with fans of the games and critics than movie adaptations, but this is just another reason that an anime series based on Kingdom Hearts is a smarter choice than a standalone feature film. A Kingdom Hearts screen adaptation has been a long time coming, with the first game in the series arriving way back in 2002 and all 12 of its follow-ups proving popular with players. With a manga series, a series of light novels, and various card games to its name, the Kingdom Hearts franchise is up there with Mobile Suit Gundam and Transformers as a massive media franchise that is rarely listed alongside the likes of Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Star Wars, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What makes Kingdom Hearts so unique is the shared universe of the game, which brings iconic Disney characters like Donald Duck into the world of the series. Players can play in the settings of classic Disney movies like Aladdin, The Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Tarzan, Snow White, or Pinocchio, making the game feel like a crossover with endless possibilities. Which Kingdom Hearts Characters We're Most Looking Forward To Seeing It doesn’t hurt that the game series also has a fantasy storyline of its own that can rival The Legend of Zelda’s franchise plot, making the upcoming Kingdom Hearts anime series an exciting prospect even for viewers who aren’t that invested in Disney movies. With an epic battle between light and dark that borrows from the Jedi and the Sith and a chosen one/princess pairing that could give Link and Zelda a run for their money, the show could be a perfect mix of Star Wars and The Legend Of Zelda if written right. Sora and Kairi are the characters most Kingdom Hearts fans will be most excited to see realized onscreen, although the prospect of Goofy appearing in an anime fantasy adventure show is also admittedly fun. While the elements that the source games have in common with both Star Wars and The Legend Of Zelda make Kingdom Hearts exciting, there is no denying the reality that the show’s Disney crossover premise is its biggest selling point. Released September 17, 2002 ESRB E for Everyone: Violence Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Engine Unreal Engine 4 Cross-Platform Play android, ios Cross Save yes Franchise Kingdom Hearts Steam Deck Compatibility yes