While the franchise was initially conceived as a crossover between Square Enix's Final Fantasy and the worlds of various Disney films, it's still unclear how heavily the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 4 will utilize that original premise when it ushers in a new era for the series. The popularity of FF may not have wavered in the period of over 20 years since the original KH launched, but the connection between the two IPs has become more nebulous as original characters have progressively found themselves at the forefront of Kingdom Hearts. Given the shifting release trends of the publisher, however, increasing exposure surrounding the company's flagship series could finally mean that substantial appearances by Final Fantasy characters are in store for Kingdom Hearts 4.