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While many gamers initially scoffed at the concept of Kingdom Hearts, a tale of adventure blending an original cast with characters from the Final Fantasy series and Disney animation, it’s since gone on to become one of publisher Square Enix’s most beloved franchises. So even though there’s still no firm release date for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3, fans are always happy to hear any developments about the latest chapter in the saga of Keyblade-wielder Sora and his eclectic group of costars.

Disney has just announced that in Kingdom Hearts 3, Sora will be sharing the screen with the Big Hero 6 team, including the show-stealing Baymax, in a segment that acts like a sequel to the Academy Award-winning film.

The news came during this year’s D23 Expo, held at the Anaheim Convention Center. Big Hero 6 producer Roy Conli handled the unveiling himself in the following video message.

Adding a Big Hero 6 world to Kingdom Hearts 3 makes a lot of sense, given that the both the animated movie and video game series blend Japanese and American designs. Conli also touches on how the two works share themes about the value of friendship and the struggle between light and dark.

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Although he doesn’t mention the specific capacity in which Disney will be involved in implementing the addition, Conli states that teams in both the U.S. and Japan will be creating “another love letter to [the] two great cities [of San Francisco and Tokyo]” by making a version of Big Hero 6’s San Fransokyo for the game. Even more exciting is the revelation that Sora will be meeting up with Baymax after the caretaker/combat robot’s theatrical feature. “The story will take place after the events in the film,” Conli explains.

▼ This piece of concept art shows Sora and his new pal facing off against a sinister-looking version of Baymax, said to be made from the parts of the robot left behind in the portal from which he escaped in Big Hero 6.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is in development for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We’re looking forward to seeing Baymax again in, as Conli promises, “all new adventures focused on great action,” although given Kingdom Hearts’ Japanese roots, don’t be surprised if there’re a few hugs thrown into the final mix as well.

Sources: Jin (1, 2), Periscope, Gamespot
Top image: Twitter/@citacitayaka
Insert image: YouTube/Kingdom Hearts