After becoming an icon of pop culture in the late 1970s and 1980s, Star Wars made a grand return at the end of the 20th Century through Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. This led to the franchise getting the spotlight once more in the 2000s, but often at its expense given how much mockery was thrown at the prequel trilogy. Less than a decade after the Episode 3’s release, George Lucas sold his franchise to the Walt Disney Company, which would go on to produce a sequel trilogy for Star Wars that has arguably provoked more vitriol and debate from fans than the prequels.
In addition to the controversial reception of the prequels and sequels, the toxic history of the Star Wars fandom is often part of the reason why the original trilogy is the only consistently honored part of the series. As it is now owned by Disney, Star Wars could potentially make it into Kingdom Hearts 4, and it is one of the most requested worlds among fans. That being said, if Kingdom Hearts wants to make a Star Wars world work, it is better off relying on the original trilogy for the time being.
The Advantages of Narrow Star Wars Representation
Kingdom Hearts has become a memorable series over its two decades of existence, and it owes a lot of that recognition to its absurd premise. The Disney-themed worlds might polarize many Kingdom Hearts fans, but it is hard to find a person who claims that the series would better without them. One reason why the Disney worlds are often criticized is their lack of importance in Kingdom Hearts’ already ambitious and strange plot. Additionally, in-game questlines usually amount to nothing more than diluted retellings of the original films.
With these problems being evident in primarily self-contained Disney films, it is easy to see why a Star Wars world in a future Kingdom Hearts game could be led astray and become disastrous. Most of the saga’s most iconic characters and set pieces hail from the original trilogy. Whether someone playing the game is a Star Wars fan or a casual passerby with basic knowledge of the franchise, both audiences could appreciate a Star Wars-themed level in Kingdom Hearts that mostly adheres to the characters and themes that made the series so successful to begin with.
Even without taking issues like audience accessibility into account, the Star Wars universe is massive. Supplementary media takes advantage of this expanded universe, but it is tricky to conceive of a potential storyline that honors the originality of the extra material without creating more confusion in an overstuffed narrative. Kingdom Hearts worlds are very rarely affected by anything other than the original films that made audiences love their characters to begin with. If a Star Wars world were to prioritize the original trilogy, it would be more useful to the writers and properly emulate the Kingdom Hearts spirit.
Unlike most properties owned by Disney, Star Wars can sustain itself with stories in many mediums. Kingdom Hearts could make an entire game with only unique levels based on Star Wars scenes and locations. However, the original trilogy introduced the characters, soundtrack, locales, and weaponry that everyone around the world is familiar with. Not only are its follow-up films too divisive to satisfy the fandom in such a short adaptation, the original trilogy provides plenty of material to work with and create a satisfying experience out of.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is in development.