I know there are folks out there who will feel strongly over what I'm about to type, so I'll just go ahead and tear off the band-aid: Kingdom Hearts 3 might have Star Wars in it. I'll give you all a moment to collect yourselves.
Are we good? All right. If you think this is an amazing idea and you're dying to see it come to fruition, congrats, and keep your fingers crossed. But if you've fallen to your knees in grief that the end times are nigh for your beloved franchise (whether you mean Kingdom Hearts or Star Wars), take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. Heck, if it does happen, it may turn out great! Star Wars and Kingdom Hearts do have a lot in common, so they may be a perfect match. ...Oh? You don't know what they could possibly share except ownership by the House of Mouse? Well, I happen to have seven examples of why Kingdom Hearts is just like Star Wars, and they all start in a galaxy far, far away...
Certain people can take advantage of a "Force" of light and darkness
In Star Wars: In the Star Wars universe, the Force is a metaphysical power that flows through all living things, divided into light and dark sides. That whole "May the Force be with you" thing? Yeah, that. It's all very deep and spiritual, and you can use it to make an epic laser sword and cut people in half (but more on that later). While it's woven through the fabric of reality, only the Jedi and Sith - folks who are hyper sensitive to the Force - can use it to perform feats of athleticism and convince you these are not the droids you're looking for.
In Kingdom Hearts: If you've played more than an hour of Kingdom Hearts and haven't heard "light" and "darkness" mentioned at least a dozen times, I think you might have it muted. The Light and The Darkness are forces that affect everyone in the universe, and while some dark creatures can manipulate the latter, Keyblade wielders (whether light- or dark-leaning) are the only ones who can use those shades to their full potential.
They also get awesome swords
In Star Wars: If you never had a fake lightsaber battle as a kid, I am so, so sorry. Apparently being able to use the Force means you get a sick plasma sword, which only works because Jedi powers contain it and keeps it from burning you to death. Carrying one of these babies around means you've joined an elite club of pseudo-magic badasses who will totally take their swords to a gunfight.
In Kingdom Hearts: The Keyblades might just look like a cutesy not-weapon at first, but make no mistake: Disney wasn't afraid to kill Mufasa, and they aren't afraid to give their heroes some firepower. The Keyblades are weapons imbued with light or darkness that appear to worthy wielders in their hour of need, giving those lucky suckers access to a wide array of magical abilities. That covers everything from increasing their magic prowess to letting them tear someone's heart out. Still think Disney's messing around?
There was a big war that wiped out the magic sword users
In Star Wars: Funny thing about envisioning the world in literal black and white, it tends to cause tension. The Jedi figured that out through a millennia of continuous conflict, starting with the Hundred-Year Darkness (which saw Dark Jedi break off from the Jedi Order and become the Sith), carrying on through the Jedi Civil War, and ending with the Great Jedi Purge. I figure "purge" kind of gives away what happened, but if you're still uncertain, let's just say there's only a few Jedi left when Luke Skywalker hits the scene. As in, like, five.
In Kingdom Hearts: Something about the idea of complete control over existence gets people riled up, which is what started the Keyblade War. Antsy to take control of Kingdom Hearts (a realm where all life and pretty much everything else originates from), folks started making inferior copies of its key, the -blade and imbuing them with light or darkness. Then, as light and dark diehards are wont to do, they started kicking the shit out of each other. The war basically wiped Keyblade Masters from the face of the universe, to the point that Sora is the one chosen to save everyone, because he's the most competent option. Really?
A great warrior turns to the dark side to save a girl, then almost kills her
In Star Wars: Remember that stirring romance between Anakin and Padme in the prequel trilogy, and the love that rocked the galaxy? Yeah, me neither. I do remember that a dream about Padme dying gets Anakin's robes all in a twist and starts him on the path to the dark side. The Jedi brush off his night frights and encourage him to let go of attachments, which is about the least helpful thing they could have done, so he cozies up to Palpatine instead. The evil-emperor-to-be convinces Anakin that the dark side will offer the power he needs to save his wife. Anakin takes the deal, then goes into a darkness-fueled rage and chokes Padme half to death himself.
In Kingdom Hearts: When our heroes' home on Destiny Islands is destroyed by a black hole that appears in the sky (there go the property values), Sora's good friend Riku manages to recover their mutual pal Kairi's comatose body and tries to figure out how to wake her up. Skipping the creepy 'true loves first kiss' thing that Disney tends to go for, he turns to Sora, but discovers the guy has already found a new group of buddies to hang out with. Feeling betrayed, Riku is seduced to the side of darkness by Maleficent (you know the one), who promises he'll be able to save Kairi with his newfound dark powers. Except he almost carves her heart out instead.
There's a fan favorite rogue chasing our heroes for his own reasons
In Star Wars: A bounty hunting badass, Boba Fett is a huge fan favorite despite all the trouble he puts our heroes through. Though he messes with all of team Millennium Falcon as it suits him, he's mostly chasing Han Solo, but don't let those 'bounties' fool you - he'd go after Han for free. His obsession is so great that it lands him in the stomach of a giant Tatooine fly trap, but Fett knows he's too cool to die and crawls out of there like a boss in post-movie material. He swears to continue his hunt for Han to the end of the universe and proves it by getting over it and training Han's daughter to fight her corrupt brother in Star Wars Legends texts. That also works I suppose.
In Kingdom Hearts: Though I could go my entire life without hearing "Got it memorized?" ever again, I'm apparently in the minority, because Kingdom Hearts fans cannot get enough of Axel. A fiery redhead who will literally light you on fire, he has an unhealthy fascination with a former, much younger friend named Roxas. Ostensibly focused on capturing his pal on the orders of Organization XIII, they don't exactly have to bend his arm before he's off on a Roxas hunt. That results in his death-by-ex-best-friend, but he gets better, just in time to defect to team hero because Sora absorbed Roxas. Or something. Dont ask.
An old master teaches the hero The True Way
In Star Wars: Every story of an intrepid young hero has to have an old mentor to do the actual work of making him competent. In Star Wars, that's Yoda, who gets the job done with as much bizarrely communicated snark as possible. Self-exiled to the backwater swamps of Dagobah after all the Jedi are wiped out, he's eventually hunted down by Luke Skywalker, and reluctantly agrees to school him in the ways of the Force. That involves a lot of riding around on the guy's shoulders and insulting him, so at least it's fun.
In Kingdom Hearts: While not as cranky as Yoda (despite the stink-eye he gives Mickey Mouse in Fantasia), Yen Sid is every bit the retired magic master with some fresh-faced sprogs to school. Hiding himself away in Mysterious Tower (seriously, that's just what it's called) after every Keyblade Master but Mickey Mouse dies/vanishes/gets possessed by a creepy old man, he doesn't come out until things get really bad and Sora is officially the galaxy's last hope. Yen Sid agrees to train not only him and Riku, but Kairi and Lea as well, because the known universe needs all the help it can get.
The protagonist and fallen hero combine their powers to defeat the ultimate evil
In Star Wars: In one of the most iconic father-son moments in film history (and damnit, if anyone says spoiler I will lose my mind), Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader put aside their differences in order to defeat the evil Sith Emperor Palpatine. You know, kind of. They do have a big lightsaber battle where they nearly kill each other and Luke cuts off Vader's hand. But when Luke refuses to kill Vader and Palpatine starts using Luke as a fleshy lightning rod, seeing his son in pain makes Vader snap. So while Luke plays the bait, Vader takes advantage of the distraction to grab Palpatine and pitches him into a pit. See, father and son work well together!
In Kingdom Hearts: Things were pretty rocky with Sora and Riku for a while, what with Sora seemingly abandoning Riku and Riku trying to kill Sora multiple times afterward. That kind of animosity would normally take several weeks of awkward texts and a breakdown over pints to resolve, but these two have a galaxy to save and don't have time for all that. Instead, they rekindled their relationship by killing disco-fabulous Sephiroth Xemnas together and saving the world from his schemes. Nothing says friendship like mutual culpability!
And they both have a third part coming
That's what I've got for now, though with franchises this expansive I'm sure there's plenty more to find. Did this soothe your nerves, or at least give you some killer ideas for a crossover fanfic? Who would win in a Keyblade/lightsaber fight? Put on your geek hats, and tell me in the comments below!
There's plenty more of both Kingdom Hearts and Star Wars to go around. Check out our breakdown of the first Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, or all of Kingdom Hearts explained in one go.
Kingdom Hearts forced Naughty Dog to go "oh sh*t" while making Jak 2, because Square Enix's character models were so much more detailed that the platformer devs had to change course
After voicing Sora in 12 RPGs, Kingdom Hearts actor says maybe "the best thing to do" is let the long-running series end: "Even if you have something that you love"
