D23 dropped yesterday, and there were two things in particular that caught my attention: Kingdom Hearts IV and Avengers: Doomsday.
Let’s start with Kingdom Hearts IV.
We FINALLY got another trailer, and probably one of the biggest reveals was that Pixar’s Coco is coming to Kingdom Hearts IV. We also got confirmation that KH4 is targeting a late 2027 release.
And honestly… Coco being in this game has me thinking.
One thing I’ve been wondering about with Kingdom Hearts IV is whether the worlds in this game might have a much stronger thematic connection than we’re initially realizing.
Because think about what Coco deals with:
Death. Loss. Memories. Family. The dead. People disappearing from the living world. And the importance of remembering those who came before us.
And that makes me wonder if KH4 could be leaning heavily into worlds that explore similar themes.
Maybe we’ll get more Disney or Pixar worlds that deal with death, loss, disappearance, grief, or major transformations.
And this is where I’m going to throw out one potentially weird possibility:
What about Brother Bear?
Hear me out.
The entire premise of Brother Bear revolves around death, guilt, consequences, transformation, and learning to understand someone else’s perspective.
Kenai kills a bear, is transformed into a bear himself, and ends up becoming the brother of the very bear cub whose mother he killed.
That’s a pretty heavy premise when you actually stop and think about it.
And Kingdom Hearts has never exactly been afraid of taking Disney stories and emphasizing the darker emotional themes underneath them.
So if my theory about KH4 focusing heavily on death, loss, disappearance, and the consequences surrounding those things is right, I could absolutely see Disney digging into some of its older and less obvious movies.
And who knows?
Maybe we could even see Marvel or Star Wars show up in KH4.
I’m not saying they WILL. That’s pure speculation.
But Kingdom Hearts has become such a massive crossover universe that I don’t think anything should automatically be considered impossible anymore.
Even if Marvel and Star Wars don’t happen, I could see KH4 surprising us with some of Disney’s more underrated or darker properties.
Now…
AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY.
D23 also gave us another look at Doctor Doom, and this trailer really started showing just how much of a threat Doom is going to be. We’re talking about a movie bringing together characters from the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men sides of Marvel.
And I noticed something interesting.
The movie doesn’t appear to have an officially announced MPA rating yet.
There are already some theater listings calling it PG-13, so I’m NOT saying that it is secretly R-rated. In fact, PG-13 is obviously the most likely outcome given Marvel’s history.
But…
What if?
What if Marvel is actually considering making Avengers: Doomsday an R-rated Avengers movie?
I know.
That sounds absolutely wild.
But hear me out.
You’re bringing together an insane number of characters and franchises.
You’ve got the Avengers.
The Fantastic Four.
The X-Men.
Doctor Doom.
Multiverse chaos.
And potentially some very dark consequences.
This could end up being one of the darkest MCU stories we’ve ever seen.
And unlike previous Avengers movies, this isn’t just another villain threatening Earth.
This is potentially a story about entire realities colliding and characters from completely different corners of Marvel being forced into the same conflict.
So why NOT push it further?
Especially with Marvel having already proven that an R-rated superhero movie can work with Deadpool.
Could Doomsday be the movie where Marvel finally says:
“Okay. We’re going all the way.”
Again, I’m NOT predicting that it’s going to be R-rated.
I’m just saying that the lack of an official rating this far out from release makes me wonder what they’re planning.
And if Marvel really did surprise everyone with an R rating…
Imagine the absolute chaos that would cause.
Either way, D23 has given us plenty to speculate about.
And honestly?
That’s part of the fun.
What do you think?
Could Kingdom Hearts IV be building its worlds around themes of death, loss and disappearance?
Could we see something unexpected like Brother Bear?
And would you actually want Avengers: Doomsday to be rated R?