Epic Mickey returns this fall?

Source: See below.

What we heard: Disney Interactive Studios' Epic Mickey fell short with critics upon its release for the Wii in 2010. Still, the game went on to sell more than 1.3 million units within its first month, and where there are sales, there are sequels.

First, the information. Epic Mickey 2 is reportedly in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, with a targeted release date of fall 2012.

Straightforward enough, right? Unfortunately, it's not that easy, as the source of this information takes as many turns as a Main Street electrical parade. The information entered the news cycle via GameStop-owned Game Informer, which spotted an article that appeared on Disney enthusiast website StitchKingdom.com.

Though Stitch Kingdom's original report has since been pulled, a Google cache-captured version indicates that the information comes via D23, the official Disney Club fan site. However, if the pointed-to article on D23 did indeed have word on Epic Mickey 2, it has since been scrubbed clean. Conveniently, Stitch Kingdom did copy and paste the purported text of the D23 article.

Disney Epic Mickey 2 is the latest game in the critically acclaimed Disney Epic Mickey videogame series. In this all-new action-platforming game available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, Mickey embarks on an epic journey and is pulled back into a world filled with Disney’s forgotten characters. Players can choose to play single-player as Mickey or for the first time players can also choose 2-player split screen mode.

In the 2 player mode one person can play as Mickey wielding magic paint and paint thinner to dynamically change the world and the second player can play as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – Walt Disney’s first cartoon star – with the power to fly like a helicopter and use electricity to fight or friend enemies and solve challenges. Team-up and choose your path to save this forgotten world because the choices you make will alter the story and change the end of the game!"

The text did not indicate whether Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios will again be crafting the warped world of Mickey's darker side. Spector is best known for his work bringing the acclaimed Deus Ex franchise to market.

The official story: Disney Interactive Studios had not returned a request for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus: Looking not bogus. Epic Mickey introduced a fresh take on Disney's octogenarian icon, one that consumers showed an interest in. And though the original relied heavily on the Wii Remote for its defining brush mechanic, both Microsoft and Sony have since introduced their own motion control schemes that could cater to Mickey's magic.