Star Wars in Kingdom Hearts 4?

The first trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 seems to hint at a potential crossover with the Star Wars universe.

The forest environment visible from the opening seconds of the Kingdom Hearts 4 reveal trailer seems to contain a secret only a few lynx eyes can see, namely the leg of the AT-ST walker in the background. Many people on social media have speculated that the setting could be Endor in Return of the Jedi, which will introduce Star Wars to the Disney/Square Enix crossover for the first time.

While the leg features of the AT-ST (All Terrain Reconnaissance Vehicle, vehicle used by the Galactic Empire and later by the First Order) are clear, if blurred. The sloping sides of the domed structure and the large “heel”of the walker are visible. If this is indeed a nod to the inclusion of Star Wars in Kingdom Hearts, it would be a big step for a series that has so far focused on traditional Disney characters.

Kingdom Hearts 4 moves from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5

As such, Kingdom Hearts 4’s graphics are far from final: “Development of the new opus has continued with KHIII at Square Enix Studios in Osaka under the direction of Yasushi Yasue (co-director). The trailer uses real-time rendering with Unreal Engine 4, but after parallel testing with Unreal Engine 5, the full game will be created using the new Epic Games graphics engine, and the quality of lighting and detail will be several levels higher. The development team says something extremely ambitious should be expected. “