At the recently concluded D23 2026 expo, Kingdom Hearts IV released a series of major announcements. Following the Friday night premiere of the first trailer revealing the world of Pixar's Coco, Square Enix unveiled a four-minute extended trailer during Saturday's "Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts" panel, officially confirming that Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy will be playable characters.
Extended Trailer:
In the trailer, Mickey's scenes are the most eye-catching. He will enter a magical book located in the world of "Scala ad Caelum" and embark on a unique adventure.
This book world features an art style that switches between 2D and 3D paper-like aesthetics. Mickey can create his own origami clones and use their different forms to solve puzzles—for example, turning into a thin sheet to slip through wall cracks, shrinking to squeeze through narrow passages, or even throwing himself to transform into a paper airplane for gliding. Co-director Tai Yasue stated at the panel that this section adopts a "puzzle-based game design," which is distinctly different from Sora's main adventure style, offering a "very refreshing and fun experience." Many media outlets pointed out that this creativity was clearly inspired by Nintendo's Paper Mario series.
The extended trailer also showcases Donald Duck and Goofy embarking on independent adventures without Sora's guidance, a first for the main series. Together, they will explore the "Land of the Dead" from Coco and battle the Heartless. Previously, it was confirmed that Ernesto de la Cruz, the antagonist from the movie Coco, will appear in the game, voiced by his original film actor, Benjamin Bratt.
Video Screenshots:
