Lost ‘Kingdom Hearts’ Pilot Found And What It Could Mean
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For years, Kingdom Hearts has been one of Disney’s most successful videogame franchises. Developed by Square Enix in 2002, the franchise now includes several video games on several systems from the Playstation 4 to the Gameboy Advance. What many might not know is that Kingdom Hearts almost hit the small screen. When the first game came out in the early 2000s, the folks at Disney almost developed a Kingdom Hearts animated series. There is not a lot of information on the series, although a few stills and images have emerged over the years.
In 2022, one of the directors Seth Kearsley released a pitch pilot episode on his YouTube account. At only ten minutes long with only animatics, it did have a full voice cast with a young Haley Joel Osment as Sora and the usual array of voice actors portraying their respective Disney characters. Sadly, the video was taken down quite recently (although there are still reaction videos all over YouTube). However, it does beg whether Kingdom Hearts could have been a television series. After all these years of rumors and theory, we have official confirmation of just how far a Kingdom Hearts series came along the pipeline to have a concept pilot with full voice acting and at least storyboarded animation.
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Kingdom Hearts: The Series?
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Back then, video game adaptations were still a rarity and sadly not always great as they are today. What would a Kingdom Hearts series bring to the table? Quite a bit. Kingdom Hearts is one of the richest video game universes of all time. The wealth of Disney and Square Enix lore and mythology is ripe for storytelling. Disney already has a catalog of the most significant characters known to the western world. Showing Donald and Goofy going up against great villains like Maleficent and Jafar will be a sight to behold, and you as the main character experiencing it firsthand is key to the game’s success.
While it seemed that the original pilot would be a retelling of the original game, such a series would still add to the game’s story. The Kingdom Hearts games are part of a vast universe that tells an epic interconnected storyline.
The missions in the game themselves are very episodic in nature if they build off one another, lending themselves to a television series. A television show would add to the wider lore of the universe as other Keyblade wielders traverse the Disney worlds and meet beloved characters along the way.
The Blueprint For A Series
Image Source: Polygon
Granted that game did not have profound lore and mythology at the time, the Kingdom Hearts pilot added quite a few interesting details to the overall story. Sometimes, improving upon what is already there is the best thing an adaptation can do. A videogame, even one with a great story and deep character arcs, must still focus on gameplay. On the other hand, a show can concentrate more on those story elements. It is clear from the pilot that this series would add more depth to Sora and others.
Sora’s character is what stands out in this pilot. In the game, he tends to be a bit confident even from the beginning. There are times when he feels unsure, but not often. Here, we see a different side of him as he expresses self-doubt in wielding the Keyblade and is more concerned with finding his friends.
Riku seems a bit nicer in the pilot than in the game. We see a version of Riku that does care about Sora as a friend but is also allying with the villains. However, unlike in the game, he and Sora also seem to be more friends and less of a rival.
This single pilot episode could definitely be expanded further. An episode or an entire arc could feature a different Disney world based on movies like Aladdin, Peter Pan, or Tarzan. The missions in the game themselves are very episodic in nature even though they build off one another, lending themselves to a television series.
A Future On Television?
Image Source: IGN Southeast Asia
Videogame adaptions are seeing success over the years with shows like The Last of Us. Kingdom Hearts is just as rich a story. Perhaps with more direct input from the original creator Tetsuya Nomura, Kingdom Hearts could develop into a television series, whether as a direct retelling of the videogame or as a completely new narrative altogether.
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Source(s): YouTube
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