Kingdom Hearts IV trailer has a scene that resembles Endor from Star Wars

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-04-11 12:30 JST)

Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts IV at their Kingdom Hearts 20^th Anniversary Event. In the trailer released along with the announcement, fans have pointed out a scene they think hints at the inclusion of Star Wars in the upcoming game.

Kingdom Hearts IV is the latest title in the long-running series and was announced with a trailer showing the protagonist Sora waking up in a place similar to Tokyo, Japan called Quadratum before setting out to find a way home. Kingdom Hearts IV also marks the beginning of the Lost Master Saga after the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga in Kingdom Hearts III.

The scene that has been getting special attention from fans is the forest area shown around the 4:42 mark. It’s only shown for around 10 seconds, but if you look closely at the top-right of the screen, there appears to be a foot similar to that of an AT-ST. AT-ST is short for All Terrain Scout Transport which are 2-legged walkers used by the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars franchise.

What do AT-STs have to do with a forest? They were used in battle on the Forest Moon of Endor. In Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and company head to Endor as part of their plan to destroy the second Death Star. Then, with the help of the local Ewok species, they manage to defeat the Empire.

The forest shown in the trailer also looks similar to Endor. These two pieces of evidence have fans theorizing that we’ll be seeing Star Wars in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts IV. The forest scene itself certainly seems sudden in the overall trailer, which may also be interpreted as a hint.

The Kingdom Hearts series is made in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company, which owns many massively popular IPs. In addition to acquiring Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, they purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Lucas Films in 2012, and 21st Century Fox in 2019.

These acquisitions have also brought more diversity to the Kingdom Hearts series with worlds based on Pixar’s Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. appearing in Kingdom Hearts III.

With Lucas Films under the Disney umbrella, it wouldn’t be strange to see Star Wars appear. But if it did, it would likely be big news. It might also have fans expecting Marvel properties to appear as well.

By the way, the copyright notice for Kingdom Hearts III and the upcoming mobile game Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link is displayed as “© Disney. © Disney/Pixar.Developed by SQUARE ENIX.” But with Kingdom Hearts IV, it’s shown as “© Disney. Developed by SQUARE ENIX.” This could be to help hide what properties are going to show up in the game.

Like previous games in the series, speculation about what Disney properties will appear is part of the fun. We’re looking forward to the next release of official news.