KINGDOM HEARTS middle-grade novel series by Brooke Vitale cancelled
- Details
- Published on March 5, 2021 @ 02:50 am
- Written by Arielle
Brooke Vitale revealed in response to a Twitter user that the middle-grade Kingdom Hearts novel series she was slated to write has been cancelled. In another reply, she also revealed that the plan to make the series canon had been changed.
Back in 2019, it was discovered that Scholastic was set to publsh a series of new middle-grade Kingdom Hearts novels written by Brooke Vitale. The series was meant to introduce brand new heroes and new story to the rich legacy of the Kingdom Hearts franchise and had initially been slated to release May 2020. In 2021, Vitale revealed on her Twitter account that the series had been put on hold due to the pandemic.
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COMMENTS
I know this probably isn't uncommon in the publishing world, but it sucks that all of the author's hard work is just thrown away. Hopefully we can learn what the series was supposed to be like one day.
Pour one out :’(
Yeah, it really sucks. I'm especially bummed since the books weren't going to be canon which means they would have been easy to buy without any major frustrations bc of any story or lore contradictions.
I LOVE these sorts of side stories and what-ifs so it's just depressing that we are missing out on this :c
I'm kind of OK with this
Interested to know what happened to back out of making the novels canon, and then ultimately canceling it altogether.
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I honestly was looking forward to the series, especially since lacking a canon connection was going to make it easier to read. I guess this will be another mystery like what's in the box. Only one of them will be answered.
Not surprised it got canned. Would still love to know how this whole thing came about though.
I honestly was looking forward to the series, especially since lacking a canon connection was going to make it easier to read. I guess this will be another mystery like what's in the box. Only one of them will be answered.
We only found out the book was no longer going to be canon in this cancellation tweet.
I legitimately want to know what was in the book now. It's the Streisand effect at its finest.
WHAT WAS IN THE BOOK, BROOKE?
(my best attempt at sounding eager)
Considering the timeline and original logline, my money has always been on Xehanort's training days, and this is what lead to Dark Road going into development.
PROVE ME WRONG, VITALE
Well, at least we have that wonderful guidebook published by scholastic to be dispersed at book fairs across the U.S, with all of its grammatical errors and incorrect information, like the fact that Xaldin is a gambler and uses cards in battle.
This is a real shame. I was looking forward to see someone else explore the LH lore and universe.
I find it interesting that they initially made it non-canon and then canncelled it. Hope that someday we can learn what was planned for these books.
Well, at least we have that wonderful guidebook published by scholastic to be dispersed at book fairs across the U.S, with all of its grammatical errors and incorrect information, like the fact that Xaldin is a gambler and uses cards in battle.
Can’t believe we got that trash (they didn’t even include Xigbar but have a page about Luxu that doesn’t even mention his time as Braig/Xigbar) but not Brooke’s book.
Scholastic is also releasing another KH book in the near future. A coloring book or something, I forget.
Scholastic is also releasing another KH book in the near future. A coloring book or something, I forget.
If that gets cancelled too, at least we still have the one with my dude Vegeta.
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But man, really sucks that the novel got canned. Thanks a lot, COVID you fucking asshat of a virus.
Was it really because of Coivd or something (or one) else?
I'm not too surprised but I am disappointed, I also didn't expect it to stay canon for long once Nomura got wind of it (or did he already know about it? I don't recall seeing that he did)
Was it really because of Coivd or something (or one) else?
I'm not too surprised but I am disappointed, I also didn't expect it to stay canon for long once Nomura got wind of it (or did he already know about it? I don't recall seeing that he did)
Vitale cited Covid for the reason behind the delayed release back in January. So I guess something happened in the last two months that brought it from that to straight up being cancelled.
But yeah, I think we all figured from the moment we read the listing on Amazon that Nomura, if/when he finds out, would not be happy that someone was trying to insert their own canon into his series (which I get). I'm actually surprised it wasn't canned earlier when we first reported on it. We'd reached out to SE back when the listing first went up to ask about it so it's not like they didn't know. Maybe they didn't take it seriously until they saw that this was actually going to release? idk lol
But... is it allowed to sell a book on an ip that doesn't belong to you?
This is a bummer man
I'm now just waiting for the rumored Disney+ series to get the axe
To me this is a really ill-advised project in general, but since it got written at all, I still really want to see it.
The canon/non-canon distinction is totally meaningless. Whether the publisher labeled it as "canon" or not, it is extremely unlikely that its contents would ever impact Nomura + co-writers, so it doesn't actually matter. A company coming out and telling you something is canon or not instead of demonstrating it through the text is laughable to me, and people shouldn't take it very seriously. (star wars...)
But... is it allowed to sell a book on an ip that doesn't belong to you?
Yes. Scholastic 1) is a book publisher and was probably working with Disney, the owner of the IP, on the series and 2) bought the license to publish KH books wholesale with other Disney IPs as that is how Disney sells use of their IP to companies. It is all bundled together.
Yes. Scholastic 1) is a book publisher and was probably working with Disney, the owner of the IP, on the series and 2) bought the license to publish KH books wholesale with other Disney IPs as that is how Disney sells use of their IP to companies. It is all bundled together.
Interesting. But still, you need to get the approval from the main company. XD
Well, that’s a shame. I would’ve liked to see what the books could bring to the table.
Interesting. But still, you need to get the approval from the main company. XD
You mean Square? Not really since they have not legal rights to it. Disney only consults Nomura as a courtesy.
You mean Square? Not really since they have not legal rights to it. Disney only consults Nomura as a courtesy.
Is KH pure property of Disney? I thought it was more like a spiderman sony-marvel situation where everyone bring their characters.
Is KH pure property of Disney? I thought it was more like a spiderman sony-marvel situation where everyone bring their characters.
No, Disney owns the IP full-stop. Nothing is stopping them from ditching Nomura besides not wanting to ruin a profitable and working relationship with Square Enix. The only thing SE owns are the FF and TWEWY characters.
The contract is a bit more complex in that SE has sole exclusive merchandising rights but Disney found a loophole in that by selling the IP’s license wholesale with all of their other IP, and there are other nuances besides that that remain unknown by the public, but if Disney decided tomorrow that they were publishing their own KH game without SE, they absolutely could and they would be within their legal right to do so.
(Nomura has the power of final say in things, too, something I’m sure he negotiated into his contract so that is also a thing)
They don’t because they never get any of their attempts off the ground lolol but also because they do respect Nomura and Nomura IS KH. It’s his ideas and his creations that make the series so profitable.
No, Disney owns the IP full-stop. Nothing is stopping them from ditching Nomura besides not wanting to ruin a profitable and working relationship with Square Enix. The only thing SE owns are the FF and TWEWY characters.
The contract is a bit more complex in that SE has sole exclusive merchandising rights but Disney found a loophole in that by selling the IP’s license wholesale with all of their other IP, and there are other nuances besides that that remain unknown by the public, but if Disney decided tomorrow that they were publishing their own KH game without SE, they absolutely could and they would be within their legal right to do so.
(Nomura has the power of final say in things, too, something I’m sure he negotiated into his contract so that is also a thing)
They don’t because they never get any of their attempts off the ground lolol but also because they do respect Nomura and Nomura IS KH. It’s his ideas and his creations that make the series so profitable.
Nice, thanks for the explanation.
The more I learn about the contracts that tie the different parties, the less I understand how this series managed to come to existence. it should not exist. All the odds are against it. And yet it does. Amazing.
Nice, thanks for the explanation.
The more I learn about the contracts that tie the different parties, the less I understand how this series managed to come to existence. it should not exist. All the odds are against it. And yet it does. Amazing.
I’ve been told by Disney staff in the know that the contract absolutely is a piece of work lol
I’d love to see it one day just to know what sort of chaos Disney and Squaresoft had their lawyers concoct.
I’ve been told by Disney staff in the know that the contract absolutely is a piece of work lol
I’d love to see it one day just to know what sort of chaos Disney and Squaresoft had their lawyers concoct.
We also have to be aware that there is a high chance that Disney and Square might not see eye to eye forever. As long as the series brings money, we should be fine I guess.
I’ve been told by Disney staff in the know that the contract absolutely is a piece of work lol
I’d love to see it one day just to know what sort of chaos Disney and Squaresoft had their lawyers concoct.
It sounds like it's a pretty crazy one, doubt it'll come to see the light of day anytime soon though. Overall the contract seems to be working well for both. Square must be getting enough out of it to continue with a series, in which all they create belongs to another company.
We also have to be aware that there is a high chance that Disney and Square might not see eye to eye forever. As long as the series brings money, we should be fine I guess.
Yeah, agreed. For now it seems to be working pretty well, but who knows what the future will hold. I especially wonder what'll happen once Nomura is no longer active at Square. My best guess is the series will either stop or be rebooted.
Well damn.
Sure sucks to hear about it. Would have been pretty interested to see how it would have been like.
Can’t believe we got that trash (they didn’t even include Xigbar but have a page about Luxu that doesn’t even mention his time as Braig/Xigbar) but not Brooke’s book.
Well that's just how Scholastic operates. I remember getting a Bakugan handbook back in the day when that was insanely popular. Needless to say, it was on par with the Kingdom Hearts handbook. Looks nice, not great for information.
I'm not super upset because I didn't know alot about it. But it's still a bummer her work never got to see the light of day.
So much for my dreams of a KH/Animorphs crossover.
So much for my dreams of a KH/Animorphs crossover.
Excuse me that would have been (horrifying) amazing
So much for my dreams of a KH/Animorphs crossover.
Bet Sora would of loved the opportunity to gain morphing powers and become any animal
Bet Sora would of loved the opportunity to gain morphing powers and become any animal
Knowing the track record of the Animorphs in series he'd either become a nosflit first thing, or be heavily injured and about to die before changing back. Animorphs is one of the darkest series I've ever had the pleasure of reading, Sora would not have a great time.
Knowing the track record of the Animorphs in series he'd either become a nosflit first thing, or be heavily injured and about to die before changing back. Animorphs is one of the darkest series I've ever had the pleasure of reading, Sora would not have a great time.
Yeah that is why I’m like it would be horrifying. I’m not sure Sora would have the control and self-awareness necessary to handle the ability.
Knowing the track record of the Animorphs in series he'd either become a nosflit first thing, or be heavily injured and about to die before changing back. Animorphs is one of the darkest series I've ever had the pleasure of reading, Sora would not have a great time.
Sora would get some cop out intervention from the Ellimist fixing it with a handwave because the plot will always bend over backwards to make sure Sora never has to deal with any actually lasting consequence.
Think Sora would be ok if the Animorphs explained the two hour limit and controlling the animals instincts. Interestingly Sora's story does parallel the characters of that series to a certain degree
Well that's just how Scholastic operates. I remember getting a Bakugan handbook back in the day when that was insanely popular. Needless to say, it was on par with the Kingdom Hearts handbook. Looks nice, not great for information.
I had the same book!
I had the same book!
Wow, what a small world. Same one with dual hydranoid's image instead of hydranoid for that page?
Wow, what a small world. Same one with dual hydranoid's image instead of hydranoid for that page?
Well I don't remember it in such detail, all I know is I had a Bakugan scholastic book haha
Zettaflare
March 5, 2021 @ 02:51 amOffline