diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-scripts.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-scripts.php
index cb37b2b653877..f570f6e72da4f 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-scripts.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-scripts.php
@@ -388,6 +388,7 @@ public function do_item( $handle, $group = false ) {
 				_print_scripts();
 				$this->reset();
 			} elseif ( $this->in_default_dir( $filtered_src ) ) {
+				$this->print_code     .= $this->print_script_data( $handle, false );
 				$this->print_code     .= $this->print_extra_script( $handle, false );
 				$this->concat         .= "$handle,";
 				$this->concat_version .= "$handle$ver";
@@ -398,6 +399,7 @@ public function do_item( $handle, $group = false ) {
 			}
 		}
 
+		$this->print_script_data( $handle );
 		$this->print_extra_script( $handle );
 
 		// A single item may alias a set of items, by having dependencies, but no source.
@@ -1235,6 +1237,128 @@ public function reset() {
 		$this->ext_handles    = '';
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Prints the data for a registered script as a JSON script tag.
+	 *
+	 * The data is provided via the {@see 'script_data_{$handle}'} filter and printed
+	 * as a `<script type="application/json">` tag. This is a non-blocking alternative
+	 * to passing data via {@see wp_localize_script()} or {@see wp_add_inline_script()},
+	 * as the browser does not evaluate the tag's content as JavaScript.
+	 *
+	 * The consuming script can read the data on the client with a pattern like:
+	 *
+	 *     const dataContainer = document.getElementById( 'my-handle-js-data' );
+	 *     let data = {};
+	 *     if ( dataContainer ) {
+	 *         try {
+	 *             data = JSON.parse( dataContainer.textContent );
+	 *         } catch {}
+	 *     }
+	 *
+	 * @since x.x.x
+	 *
+	 * @param string $handle  The script's registered handle.
+	 * @param bool   $display Optional. Whether to print the script tag (true) or return it (false).
+	 *                        Default true.
+	 * @return string|bool|void The script data tag when $display is false, true if printed,
+	 *                          or void if no data.
+	 */
+	public function print_script_data( $handle, $display = true ) {
+		/**
+		 * Filters the data associated with a registered script.
+		 *
+		 * Scripts may require initialization data that is essential to have immediately
+		 * available on page load. These are suitable use cases for this data.
+		 *
+		 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$handle`, refers to the script handle
+		 * that the data is associated with.
+		 *
+		 * If the filter returns no data (an empty array), nothing will be printed.
+		 *
+		 * The data for a given script handle, if provided, will be JSON serialized in a
+		 * script tag with a `type` of `application/json` and an ID of the form
+		 * `{$handle}-js-data`.
+		 *
+		 * Example usage:
+		 *
+		 *     add_filter(
+		 *         'script_data_my-handle',
+		 *         function ( array $data ): array {
+		 *             $data['key'] = 'value';
+		 *             return $data;
+		 *         }
+		 *     );
+		 *
+		 * @since x.x.x
+		 *
+		 * @param array $data The data associated with the script handle.
+		 */
+		$data = apply_filters( "script_data_{$handle}", array() );
+
+		if ( ! is_array( $data ) ) {
+			_doing_it_wrong(
+				__METHOD__,
+				sprintf(
+					/* translators: 1: The filter name, 2: The handle name. */
+					__( 'The %1$s filter must return an array. Non-array value returned for handle "%2$s".' ),
+					"<code>script_data_{$handle}</code>",
+					$handle
+				),
+				'x.x.x'
+			);
+			return;
+		}
+
+		if ( array() === $data ) {
+			return;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * This data will be printed as JSON inside a script tag like this:
+		 *   <script type="application/json"></script>
+		 *
+		 * A script tag must be closed by a sequence beginning with `</`. It's impossible to
+		 * close a script tag without using `<`. We ensure that `<` is escaped and `/` can
+		 * remain unescaped, so `</script>` will be printed as `\u003C/script>`.
+		 *
+		 *   - JSON_HEX_TAG: All < and > are converted to \u003C and \u003E.
+		 *   - JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES: Don't escape /.
+		 *
+		 * If the page will use UTF-8 encoding, it's safe to print unescaped unicode:
+		 *
+		 *   - JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE: Encode multibyte Unicode characters literally (instead of as `\uXXXX`).
+		 *   - JSON_UNESCAPED_LINE_TERMINATORS: The line terminators are kept unescaped when
+		 *     JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE is supplied. Available as of PHP 7.1.0.
+		 */
+		$json_encode_flags = JSON_HEX_TAG | JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | JSON_UNESCAPED_LINE_TERMINATORS;
+		if ( ! is_utf8_charset() ) {
+			$json_encode_flags = JSON_HEX_TAG | JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES;
+		}
+
+		$output = wp_get_inline_script_tag(
+			(string) wp_json_encode(
+				$data,
+				$json_encode_flags
+			),
+			array(
+				'type' => 'application/json',
+				'id'   => "{$handle}-js-data",
+			)
+		);
+
+		if ( ! $display ) {
+			return $output;
+		}
+
+		if ( $this->do_concat ) {
+			$this->print_html .= $output;
+		} else {
+			echo $output;
+		}
+
+		return true;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Gets a script-specific dependency warning message.
 	 *
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/functions.wp-scripts.php b/src/wp-includes/functions.wp-scripts.php
index 59e4e54a1a1ad..5253135115ac6 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/functions.wp-scripts.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/functions.wp-scripts.php
@@ -190,6 +190,53 @@ function wp_add_inline_script( $handle, $data, $position = 'after' ) {
 	return wp_scripts()->add_inline_script( $handle, $data, $position );
 }
 
+/**
+ * Adds data to be passed from PHP to a registered script via a JSON script tag.
+ *
+ * The data is printed as a `<script type="application/json" id="{$handle}-js-data">` tag
+ * immediately before the script tag for the given handle. Because the tag type is
+ * `application/json`, the browser does not execute its contents, making this a
+ * non-blocking alternative to {@see wp_localize_script()} or {@see wp_add_inline_script()}.
+ *
+ * Data type fidelity is preserved: integers, booleans, arrays, and nested objects
+ * are all serialized correctly as JSON, unlike {@see wp_localize_script()} which
+ * coerces all top-level values to strings.
+ *
+ * The consuming script can read the data with a pattern like:
+ *
+ *     const dataContainer = document.getElementById( 'my-handle-js-data' );
+ *     let data = {};
+ *     if ( dataContainer ) {
+ *         try {
+ *             data = JSON.parse( dataContainer.textContent );
+ *         } catch {}
+ *     }
+ *
+ * Internally, this function adds a filter on `script_data_{$handle}` to merge
+ * `$data` into the script's data array. Multiple calls for the same handle are
+ * merged together.
+ *
+ * @since x.x.x
+ *
+ * @param string $handle Name of the script to attach data to. Must be lowercase.
+ * @param array  $data   Associative array of data to pass to the script.
+ * @return bool True on success, false if the script is not registered.
+ */
+function wp_add_script_data( $handle, array $data ) {
+	if ( ! wp_script_is( $handle, 'registered' ) ) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	add_filter(
+		"script_data_{$handle}",
+		static function ( array $existing ) use ( $data ): array {
+			return array_merge( $existing, $data );
+		}
+	);
+
+	return true;
+}
+
 /**
  * Registers a new script.
  *
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/dependencies/wpAddScriptData.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/dependencies/wpAddScriptData.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b60ce81e343a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/dependencies/wpAddScriptData.php
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Tests for wp_add_script_data() and WP_Scripts::print_script_data().
+ *
+ * @group dependencies
+ * @group scripts
+ * @covers ::wp_add_script_data
+ * @covers WP_Scripts::print_script_data
+ */
+class Tests_Dependencies_WpAddScriptData extends WP_UnitTestCase {
+
+	/**
+	 * @var WP_Scripts|null
+	 */
+	protected $old_wp_scripts;
+
+	public function set_up() {
+		parent::set_up();
+		$this->old_wp_scripts = $GLOBALS['wp_scripts'] ?? null;
+		remove_action( 'wp_default_scripts', 'wp_default_scripts' );
+		remove_action( 'wp_default_scripts', 'wp_default_packages' );
+		$GLOBALS['wp_scripts']                  = new WP_Scripts();
+		$GLOBALS['wp_scripts']->default_version = get_bloginfo( 'version' );
+	}
+
+	public function tear_down() {
+		$GLOBALS['wp_scripts'] = $this->old_wp_scripts;
+		add_action( 'wp_default_scripts', 'wp_default_scripts' );
+		parent::tear_down();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns the output of printing a single script handle.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $handle Script handle to print.
+	 * @return string Captured output.
+	 */
+	private function get_print_output( $handle ) {
+		ob_start();
+		wp_print_scripts( $handle );
+		return ob_get_clean();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 58873
+	 */
+	public function test_wp_add_script_data_returns_false_for_unregistered_handle() {
+		$this->assertFalse( wp_add_script_data( 'nonexistent-handle', array( 'key' => 'value' ) ) );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 58873
+	 */
+	public function test_print_script_data_outputs_json_tag_before_script_and_preserves_types() {
+		wp_enqueue_script( 'test-handle', '/test.js' );
+		wp_add_script_data(
+			'test-handle',
+			array(
+				'str'    => 'value',
+				'count'  => 42,
+				'active' => true,
+				'config' => array( 'url' => 'https://example.com' ),
+			)
+		);
+
+		$output = $this->get_print_output( 'test-handle' );
+
+		// Correct tag format and ID.
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '<script id="test-handle-js-data" type="application/json">', $output );
+		// Type fidelity.
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '"count":42', $output );
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '"active":true', $output );
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '"url":"https://example.com"', $output );
+		// Printed before the script tag.
+		$this->assertLessThan(
+			strpos( $output, 'id="test-handle-js"' ),
+			strpos( $output, 'test-handle-js-data' ),
+			'JSON data tag must appear before the script tag.'
+		);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 58873
+	 */
+	public function test_print_script_data_not_printed_when_no_data() {
+		wp_enqueue_script( 'test-handle', '/test.js' );
+
+		$output = $this->get_print_output( 'test-handle' );
+
+		$this->assertStringNotContainsString( 'test-handle-js-data', $output );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 58873
+	 */
+	public function test_multiple_calls_are_merged_and_filter_works_directly() {
+		wp_enqueue_script( 'test-handle', '/test.js' );
+		wp_add_script_data( 'test-handle', array( 'first' => 'one' ) );
+		wp_add_script_data( 'test-handle', array( 'second' => 'two' ) );
+
+		add_filter(
+			'script_data_test-handle',
+			static function ( array $data ): array {
+				$data['from_filter'] = 'yes';
+				return $data;
+			}
+		);
+
+		$output = $this->get_print_output( 'test-handle' );
+
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '"first":"one"', $output );
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '"second":"two"', $output );
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '"from_filter":"yes"', $output );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 58873
+	 */
+	public function test_print_script_data_escapes_html_tags_in_json() {
+		wp_enqueue_script( 'test-handle', '/test.js' );
+		wp_add_script_data( 'test-handle', array( 'html' => '<script>alert(1)</script>' ) );
+
+		$output = $this->get_print_output( 'test-handle' );
+
+		$this->assertStringNotContainsString( '<script>alert(1)</script>', $output );
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( '\u003C', $output );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 58873
+	 * @expectedIncorrectUsage WP_Scripts::print_script_data
+	 */
+	public function test_print_script_data_doing_it_wrong_for_non_array_filter_return() {
+		wp_enqueue_script( 'test-handle', '/test.js' );
+
+		add_filter(
+			'script_data_test-handle',
+			static function () {
+				return 'not an array';
+			}
+		);
+
+		$output = $this->get_print_output( 'test-handle' );
+
+		$this->assertStringNotContainsString( 'test-handle-js-data', $output );
+	}
+}