Should Square Enix hold to the plans made last year, Kingdom Hearts III will finally release in 2018 . And while that means we’re possibly less than 12 months away from the end of the Dark Seeker Saga, there’s still plenty we don’t know about the upcoming sequel.

Kingdom Hearts 3 E3 2017 Orchestra Trailer Stills 14 IMAGES

An Alleged Monsters, Inc. World

How likely is this leak to be true?

Loading

An Alleged Frozen And Other Leaked Worlds

How likely is this leak to be true?

Rumored The World Ends With You Inclusion, Release Date Announcement

How likely is this leak to be true?

Loading

While we covered these rumors earlier in the year, we're bringing the piece back into the spotlight ahead of the D23 Expo Japan Kingdom Hearts panel in the hopes that something new will be showcased from the game there.The last few weeks have changed that…possibly. While Square has not officially announced much about KH3 since the 1-2 punch of last year's D23 and E3 trailers , a series of “leaks” and rumored details about the game have been floating around in this temporary KH news drought.Are these rumors or leaks real? We don’t know, and we're not aiming here to validate or outright deny their claims. But there’s so much to discuss as a possibility for Kingdom Hearts, IGN has decided to dive deep into three of the biggest rumors and discuss how likely they may be, especially with a Kingdom Hearts III presentation set for D23 Expo Japan.Note: We are in no way verifying or denying the validity of any of these leaks or reports. Square Enix had no comment on these rumors when asked by IGN.Let’s start with the earliest leaks. In mid-December, a few alleged screenshots of a Monsters, Inc. world were posted to ResetEra . Reportedly showing off a world based on the Pixar franchise, even more supposed screenshots of an alleged dev build leaked days later as seen on the KHInsider forums , showcasing Sora, Donald, and Goofy in monster-ized forms, along with Mike and Sully as party members.Set in the Monsters, Inc. factory, these supposed leaked screens showcase a number of areas of Mike and Sully’s workplace, as well as Boo and the door vault, which plays a pivotal part in the first Monsters film.Considering KH3 is the first Kingdom Hearts game to include Pixar films with the Toy Story world revealed at D23 Expo last year, it wouldn’t be shocking for Square Enix to include even more of Pixar’s filmography. So whether Monsters, Inc. is a real world, I would expect to see multiple Pixar worlds in KH3, whether as cameo characters or full-on levels.As for the likelihood based on this alleged leak, I initially balked at the leaked images as well-doctored fakes. But then so many more released, and while that doesn’t inherently imbue them with validity, there’s a surprising variety of locations, character models, and monsters to suggest it may be a real inclusion.Monsters, Inc., on a creative level, is also a smart choice. While the factory itself doesn’t immediately come to mind as a fun playground for a game, the possibility of jumping through the doors the film’s monsters use to scare offers an unlimited number of unique worlds to create. Square could easily get creative with single room locations Sora and the gang hop through during a major setpiece, either to other random locations or even to Disney worlds not receiving the full level treatment in KH3.Shortly following the posting of those Monsters, Inc. screenshots, a purported “world list” leaked as seen on Reddit , allegedly pointing to several more unconfirmed worlds set to be included in the sequel. The list allegedly comes from an FTP folder full of files and a directory which would suggest both a Frozen world will debut in the game, while the 100 Acre Woods is allegedly returning.The “leak” is simply a bunch of file names that point to assets in several confirmed and unconfirmed worlds (familiar KH spots like Disney Castle and Radiant Garden are also listed). According to those who have dug into these files, the FTP server was likely also the source of the Monsters, Inc. alleged leak used by an art contractor outside Square Enix.Without actual assets to judge, it’s difficult to assess the legitimacy of a supposed leak like this. If it’s real, nothing is all that surprising — the returning worlds would all be expected as major locations necessary for the story. Frozen’s inclusion has all but been assumed given the franchise’s mega-popularity and Tangled’s already confirmed appearance as another modern day Disney princess film.A data link is certainly possible, especially given how long the game has been in developmentBut given how likely all of these worlds are, the leak could simply be a very easy-to-assemble fake with smart guesses and enough vagaries to be passed around as a legitimate leak.And last but not least, a rumor posted last year to 4chan has picked up steam thanks to Nintendo’s latest Direct Mini The rumor suggests a Q3 release date will be announced at D23 Expo Japan next month in a new trailer revealing the Monsters, Inc. world. Final Fantasy characters like Lightning and Noctis are also reported to appear in the game, and, most surprisingly, The World Ends With You’s Shibuya will be included as a world in KH3.The reported leak is followed up by comments calling into question the reported facts, only to have the original poster say “You will see directly what I mean in January.”The alleged leaker’s comments saying others will “directly” see what they mean in January has many assuming this person referred to the January Direct Mini and the reveal of TWEWY coming to Switch nearly a month before its actual reveal.If that pointed word choice is indeed intentional, it wouldn’t be shocking for Square to try to find a way to integrate the cult franchise into one of its biggest series considering this renewed spotlight on TWEWY. And this wouldn’t be the first time the two franchises crossed paths — The World Ends With You characters were included in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. So there is precedence for them to reappear in KH3.From a creative standpoint, it might be an odd choice, though. A full world would be surprising considering Square hasn’t really made use of its own franchises before as the basis for levels in Kingdom Hearts 3, only as characters integrated into the story. And a cityscape may be too similar to whatever designs Square Enix has in mind for the Big Hero 6/San Fransokyo level Had TWEWY not come back into the spotlight with the Direct Mini, it would be easy to dismiss this leak as just any other forum post hoping to gain some traction at a time when fans would love more details. And I don’t think the Switch announcement in any way confirms this post’s validity — the use of “directly” is possibly telling, though also just odd word choice, which is not out of the question given the poster’s other highlighted comment on the thread.There’s a good chance TWEWY will appear in some form in KH3 — Square’s revival of the game on Switch shows a renewed dedication to attempt to bring the franchise some much-deserved attention. An appearance by its cast in KH3 would only solidify that. But a full-blown world, given it’s a Square property and not a Disney one, seems more unlikely.

Though we can't speak to the validity of these rumors, D23 Expo Japan begins on Feb. 10, so Kingdom Hearts fans will only have to wait a short while to find out if anything will be revealed.As for the latest on Kingdom Hearts 3, find out what IGN learned when speaking to Tetsuya Nomura about whether there might be a second playable character , as well as if KH3 will implement the Gummi Ship

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush