Coco is coming to Kingdom Hearts IV, with Benjamin Bratt
The Land of the Dead was shown as a playable level during the Pixar segment at D23. Bratt is reprising Ernesto de la Cruz in the game.
Benjamin Bratt walked out at D23 on Friday to talk about Coco 2, and then the presentation turned into something else.
The Land of the Dead appeared as a level in Kingdom Hearts IV. Bratt is voicing Ernesto de la Cruz in the game.
Two reveals folded into one segment, which is not how Disney usually handles a Kingdom Hearts world.
What was shown of the Coco world
The Land of the Dead, rendered as a playable environment.
Multiple outlets in the room described the Coco 2 tease turning into a Kingdom Hearts tease, with the world shown off as a level. Pixar’s own account confirmed the world is coming to Kingdom Hearts IV.
Bratt reprising Ernesto for the game was confirmed by ABC7 from inside the Honda Center. He told the crowd the film holds “a truly special place in my heart.”
No footage of Sora in the world has been released publicly as of writing.
Why the Coco world is a notable pick
Coco is not an obvious Kingdom Hearts fit, and that’s what makes it interesting.
The series has historically drawn from films with clear hero and villain structures that map onto a combat game. Coco is a story about family memory and what happens to the dead when the living forget them.
It also has an antagonist who is already a performer with a grand villain turn, which is presumably where Ernesto comes in.
The Land of the Dead is one of the most visually distinctive environments Pixar has built. As a Kingdom Hearts world it’s an unusually strong candidate on that basis alone.
The Coco 2 news that came with it
Coco 2 returns to the Land of the Dead in November 2029.
Lee Unkrich directs with Adrian Molina co-directing, both returning from the original. Miguel is a teenager now. Ernesto is back and, in Bratt’s framing, looking for revenge, with Miguel’s family helping him on the other side.
So the same location is being built twice at once, as a film sequel and as a video game level.
When can you play the Coco world
Late 2027.
Kingdom Hearts IV was dated Friday night for that window, its first since the game was announced in April 2022. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Two years from now, a Pixar film from 2017 becomes a place people walk around in. That gap says something about how long these things take on both sides of the deal.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Pixar official account (August 14, 2026), confirming the Coco world is coming to Kingdom Hearts IV in late 2027
ABC7 (August 14, 2026), the in-room report that Benjamin Bratt will voice Ernesto de la Cruz in the game, and his remarks on stage
SlashFilm (August 14, 2026), the live blog description of the Coco 2 tease turning into a Kingdom Hearts reveal with the Land of the Dead shown as a level
GamesRadar+ (August 14, 2026), the Coco 2 details including the Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina credits and the November 2029 date