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Fans have finally got their hands on “Kingdom Hearts 3” after waiting for many years, and now most of them are already asking about a post-launch downloadable content. Developer Square Enix has yet to announce if a DLC is in the pipeline. However, gaming fans already have a wish list of additional worlds such as locations inspired by the Marvel and “Star Wars” franchises.
The question now is whether it is possible to have “Kingdom Hearts 3” DLCs based on these two major franchises. Disney licensed its latest and most popular animated films such as “Frozen” and “Big Hero 6” for the video game. This shows it has a good partnership with Square Enix for the “Kingdom Hearts” series. Some might then think that the same agreement can be penned to allow the use of Marvel and “Star Wars” characters in the video game.
Unfortunately, it is not that easy even though Walt Disney Group is now the parent organization for Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm. In fact, it might never happen in the foreseeable future — not even for a DLC — considering the amount of negotiation and paperwork that could be required in bringing Marvel superheroes and “Star Wars” into “Kingdom Hearts 3.”
“Kingdom Hearts 3” director Tetsuya Nomura has actually explained this difficulty in an interview (translations courtesy of @lunesacree via KH13) included in the “Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania” book that launched in late February. Nomura admitted that Marvel and Lucasfilm being owned by Disney opens up the possibility for future worlds based on these franchises, but he also explained why it could be tedious and very complicated at the moment.
“In order to change those [properties] into a game, contracts must be made with each company separately, and there are cases where other game companies already have contracts, so although the Disney Group has indeed added those [properties], incorporating them into KH isn't so simple,” the “Kingdom Hearts 3” director said. “That's also the reason Mickey [Mouse] is in only one scene in KH1.”
