Kingdom Hearts 3 features many worlds not seen in its direct predecessor, but according to franchise producer Shinji Hashimoto, Marvel won’t be part of the final roster. In an interview with French-language site KHIsland, as translated by KH13, Hashimoto also touched on Disney’s influence in that choice.
Speaking first to the subject of Marvel, the publication noted that Square Enix and the comic makers recently announced a partnership that includes a new Avengers game. When asked how this collaboration might tie into a project like Kingdom Hearts 3, Hashimoto said “it’s not on the agenda for the moment. However, we may consider it in the future.”
If we are to take this man at his word, the implication here is that a Marvel universe will not be featured at launch in Kingdom Hearts 3. While translation mishaps and white lies are always a possibility, the quote sounds pretty final to us. This is especially true considering Hashimoto deferred to Director Tetsuya Nomura when asked about other topics like multiplayer. In this interview alone, Hashimoto showed signs of knowing which questions to confront and which to avoid. The fact that he spoke so candidly about Marvel, then, has the potential to speak volumes.
Besides hopes for Star Wars cameos, the concept of a Marvel world has been a longstanding desire amongst fans since the game was announced. In 2014 Co-Director Tai Yasue said Marvel was “not off limits” for the third major installment, but now that the list of worlds has likely been nailed down, it would seem a more concrete decision has been made.
Whenever a popular license is excluded from a collaborative effort like Kingdom Hearts, the question always turns to whether or not rights holders, mostly Disney, played a role in the outcome. Hashimoto assured fans “they give us free reign most of the time,” adding that “they allow us to create what we want and Disney generally accepts our ideas.” While this statement doesn’t address the Marvel issue directly, the sentiment remains that Disney doesn’t often stifle creativity if it’s warranted.
This news arrives just weeks after Square Enix confirmed that another highly demanded Disney property, Toy Story, will have its own world in Kingdom Hearts 3. Unlike the world catalog in the previous games, this new addition required agreement from Pixar as well as Disney. The Kingdom Hearts 3 narrative will be canon to the film universe, and it’s been given the full support of series director John Lasseter.
Other revealed worlds for Kingdom Hearts 3 include the Kingdom Of Corona from Tangled, Mt. Olympus from Hercules and San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. The final game will reportedly have fewer than 12 worlds, but the experience in each one promises to be rather extensive.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is scheduled to release in 2018 on PS4 and Xbox One.
Are you surprised there probably won’t be a Marvel world in Kingdom Hearts 3? Is this producer just protecting a future reveal? Tell us in the comments section!
