The Darkest Awakening

The Darkest Awakening is an Australian/New Zealand/British/Canadian/American 2019 TV series loosely based on Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost, J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It is Zoe Tria's(known for her A Crazy EX Battle series) first live-action TV series. Filming takes place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Auckland, New Zealand, Singapore, Adelaide, Southern Australia, Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia and Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island, Australia.
== Synopsis ==
=== Volume 1 ===
Entering his 2nd year of university, Luke Hemmings, along with his friends Calum Hood, Michael Clifford, Troye Sivan and Wendy Huang were about to be transferred into a university in Auckland, New Zealand. Along with another fellow 2nd -ear student Collins Key, 1st -ear students Devan Key and Shawn Mendes and 3rd year student Ashton Irwin.
But upon arrival in Auckland, they are all staying in a house which looks really creepy. They encountered magical bracelets that gives them special powers to fight the creeps. Will they get used to their new home in Auckland?
=== Volume 2 ===
After coming home from Singapore, things didn't change for primary school student Annika, secondary school students Zoe, Robert, Raphael, Kan, Aidan, Jamie, Lexi, Yuto, Tanya and Ben, 1st year university students Devan, Shawn, Rena, Bindi, Brent and Bea, 2nd-year university students Calum, Justin, Collins, Troye, Luke, Niall, Michael, Wendy, Harry, Nia, Brad and Connor, 3rd-year university students Ashton, James and Tristan and university graduates Kris, Louis, and Yao.
After going back to university, things haven't changed until they'll have to go back to New Zealand. Taking everyone else with them as well. But things have changed once the team has arrived in New Zealand. After falling down once again before entering the Arch Hill Chase, they encountered an AI and they followed it until meeting Sir Simon again. They have to fight the creeps but this time with digital powers instead of mythical powers. Will they be able to get used to it?
== Main Characters ==
Calum Hood(5sos) as Calum Hood, an Australian 24-year-old(23 before Season 9) 2nd year university student of Scottish and Maori descent with cystic fibrosis. His powers are wind and healing. He is the protagonist.
Justin Bieber as Justin Bieber, a Canadian 26-year-old(25 before Season 12) 2nd year university student of German, British, Irish and French-Canadian descent. His powers are water and mind reading. He is the protagonist.
Devan Key as Devan Key, an American 21-year-old 1st year university student with cystic fibrosis. His powers are flight and speed. He is the protagonist.
Collins Key as Collins Key, an American 23-year-old 2nd year university student. His powers are nature and critical inventing. He is the protagonist.
Troye Sivan as Troye Sivan, a South African-Australian 24-year-old 2nd year university student of ethnic Jewish descent with Marfan's syndrome. His powers are flexibility and multiplying. He is the protagonist.
Luke Hemmings(5sos) as Luke Hemmings, an Australian 23-year-old 2nd year university student. His powers are light and invisibility. He is the protagonist, narrator and de facto leader of the team.
Shawn Mendes as Shawn Mendes, a Canadian 21-year-old 1st year university student of Portuguese and British descent. His powers are fire and earthquake. He is the protagonist.
Niall Horan(1D) as Niall Horan, an Irish 25-year-old 2nd year university student. His powers are rocks and critical thinking. He is the protagonist.
Zoe Tria as Zoe Hood, an Australian 13-year-old secondary school student of Scottish and Maori descent. Her powers are speed and sticking on walls. She is the protagonist.
Michael Clifford(5sos) as Michael Clifford, an Australian 24-year-old(23 before Season 5) 2nd year university student of British, Irish, Scottish and German descent. His powers are force and strength. He is the protagonist.
Robert Irwin as Robert Irwin, an Australian 16-year-old(15 before Season 6) conservationist and secondary school student of Irish and British descent. His powers are magic and animal whispering. He is the protagonist.
Wengie as Wendy Huang, an Australian 23-year-old(22 before Season 8) 2nd year university student of Chinese descent. Her powers are darkness and storm. She is the protagonist.
Ashton Irwin(5sos) as Ashton Irwin, an Australian 25-year-old 3rd year university student of half Irish descent. His weapon is a shield. He is the deuteragonist.
Raphael Lau as Raphael Hood, an Australian 13-year-old secondary school student of Scottish and Maori descent with cystic fibrosis. His weapon is a sword. He is the deuteragonist.
Gun as Kan Chan, a British 12-year-old secondary school student of Chinese and British descent with heart murmur. Her weapon is a bow and arrow. She is the deuteragonist.
Aidan Harney as Aidan Harney, an American(Boston) 13-year-old(12 before Season 4) secondary school student of Irish, French and Caucasian descent. His weapons are spears. He is the deuteragonist.
Harry Styles(1D) as Harry Styles, a British 26-year-old(25 before Season 11) 2nd year university student. His weapon is a club. He is a former antagonist and currently the deuteragonist.
Nia Lovelis(Hey Violet) as Nia Lovelis, an American 23-year-old(22 before Season 7) 2nd year university student. Her weapon is a magic wand. She is the deuteragonist.
Rena Lovelis(Hey Violet) as Rena Lovelis, an American 21-year-old 1st year university student. Her weapon is a trident. She is the deuteragonist.
Bindi Irwin as Bindi Irwin, an Australian 21-year-old conservationist and 1st year university student. Her weapon is a whip. She is the deuteragonist.
Brad Simpson(The Vamps) as Brad Simpson, a British 24-year-old 2nd year university student with cystic fibrosis. His weapon is a staff. He is the deuteragonist.
Connor Ball(The Vamps) as Connor Ball, a Scottish 24-year-old(23 before Season 13) 2nd year university student with asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His weapon is a scythe. He is the deuteragonist.
Jamie Frankland as Jamie Frankland, a British 11-year-old(10 before Season 5) secondary school student. His powers are digging and speed. He is the tritagonist.
Annika Osias as Annika Koa, a New Zealand 10-year-old(9 before Season 7) secondary school student of Maori descent. Her powers are strength and nature. She is the tritagonist.
Brent Rivera as Brent Rivera, an American 22-year-old(21 before Season 8) 1st year university student of Hispanic descent. His powers are speed and destruction. He is the tritagonist.
Bea Miller as Bea Miller, an American 21-year-old(20 before Season 10) 1st year university student. Her powers are time travel and speed. She is the tritagonist.
Lexi Rivera as Lexi Rivera, an American 18-year-old secondary school student of Hispanic descent. Her powers are venom and second chance. She is the tritagonist.
Kris Wu as Kris Wu, a Canadian 29-year-old(28 before Season 3) university graduate of Chinese descent. His powers are teleportation and agility. He is the tritagonist.
Louis Tomlinson(1D) as Louis Tomlinson, a British 28-year-old(27 before Season 7) university graduate. His powers are noise and agility. He is the tritagonist.
Yao Ming as Yao Ming, a Chinese 39-year-old retired basketball player and now administrator. His powers are strength and agility. He is the tritagonist.
Yuto Yoshida as Yuto Yoshida, a Canadian 14-year-old secondary school student of Japanese and French-Canadian descent. His powers are speed and flight. He is the tritagonist.
James McVey(The Vamps) as James McVey, a British 25-year-old 3rd year university student with an extra bone on his wrist. His powers are super senses and speed. He is the tritagonist.
Tanya Leong as Tanya Leong, a Malaysian 12-year-old secondary school student of Chinese and Malaysian descent. Her powers are earth and force. She is the tritagonist.
Tristan Evans(The Vamps) as Tristan Evans, a British 25-year-old 3rd year university student. His weapons are nun chucks. He is the tritagonist.
Ben Azelart as Ben Azelart, an American 18-year-old(17 before Season 8) secondary school student of French descent. His weapons are sai. He is the tritagonist.
Yungblud as Dominic Harrison, a British 22-year-old 2nd year university student. His weapons are thunderbolts. He is the deuteragonist.
Halsey as Ashley Frangipane, an American 25-year-old 2nd year university student of African-American and Italian-American descent. Her weapons are ninja stars. She is the tritagonist.
Ken as Ken Wang, a Russian 12-year-old secondary school student of Chinese and Russian descent. His weapon is the kantana. He is the tritagonist.
Alan Stokes as Alan Stokes, an American 23-year-old(22 before Season 5) 2nd year university student of Chinese and American descent. His weapon is a twin sword. He is the tritagonist.
Alex Stokes as Alex Stokes, an American 23-year-old(22 before Season 5) 2nd year university student of Chinese and American descent. His weapon is a twin sword. He is the tritagonist.
Sheryl Lau as Sheryl Lau, a Hong Kongese 17-year -old(16 before Season 4) secondary school student of Chinese and British descent. Her weapon is a banana palm fan. She is the tritagonist.
Thaiyo Kido as Thaiyo Kido, a Japanese 13-year-old secondary school student of Japanese and Chinese descent. His weapon is a staff. He is the tritagonist.
Sierra Deaton as Sierra Deaton, an American 23-year-old(22 before Season 8) 2nd year university student of British and Vietnamese descent. Her weapons are stars. She is the deuteragonist.
Crystal Leigh as Crystal Leigh, an American 23-year-old 2nd year univeristy student of Christmas Island British-Indian and Chinese(Chindian) descent. Her weapons are crystals. She is the deuteragonist.
Reece Bibby(NHC) as Reece Bibby, a British 21-year-old 1st year university student. His weapon is a hammer. He is the deuteragonist.
George Smith(NHC) as George Smith, a British 21-year-old(20 before Season 13) 1st year university student with cystic fibrosis. His weapon is a sling shot. He is the deuteragonist.
Blake Richardson(NHC) as Blake Richardson, a British 20-year-old 1st year university student of Greek descent with cystic fibrosis. His weapon is an axe. He is the deuteragonist.
Ankit Mishera as Ankit Mishera, a British 15-year-old(14 before Season 3) secondary school student of Indian and British descent. His weapon is an elephant goad. He is the deuteragonist.
Danna Paola as Danna Paola, a Mexican 19-year-old 1st year university student. Her weapon is a lightning axe. She is the deuteragonist.
Roman Kemp as Roman Kemp, a British and American 27-year-old(26 before Season 10) 3rd year university student. His weapon is a parazonium. He is the duteragonist.
AURORA as Aurora Aksnes, a Norwegian 23-year-old 2nd year university student. Her weapon is a holly dart. She is the deuteragonist.
Aiden Cowell as Aiden Cowell, a British 12-year-old secondary school student. His weapon is a flaming sword. He is the deuteragonist.
Caleb Burton as Caleb Burton, an American 19-year-old 1st year university student. He is the deuteragonist.
HRVY as Harvey Cantwell, a British 21-year-old(20 before Season 10) 1st year university student. He is the deuteragonist.
== Recurring Characters ==
Sir Ian McKellen as The Guardian he gave Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins, Devan and Shawn the magical amulets and didn't give Ashton one because he didn't want to give the reason to him but to the 1st and 2nd year students. He is loosely based on Sir Simon also known as the Canterville Ghost.(first seen in Chapter 3). He is then revealed to be Sir Simon. Sir Ian McKellen also played Chase.
Cate Blanchett as Ms. Umney she welcomed Prof. Baxter and the university students to the house. She is based on the housekeeper used in The Canterville Ghost.(first seen in Chapter 3). She also played Medusa, also known as Chase's wife.
Dominic Monaghan as Professor Baxter he is Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins, Devan and Shawn's professor and guide while in Auckland.
Tara Strong as Aren, a young female robot and a guide for the Zodiac heroes. Strong also provided the voice of Michelangelo's chirps.
== Episodes ==
Volume 1: https://www.wattpad.com/story/199823673-the-darkest-awakening
Volume 2: https://www.wattpad.com/story/210693927-the-darkest-awakening-vol-2
== Production ==
=== Development ===
While on a trip, Zoe Tria was thinking on reviving the 5 Seconds of Summer: Awakening franchise but this time, as a series. She sold her ideas to Warner Bros which collaborated with Screen Australia and will distribute it to ABC Television in Australia and New Zealand and Netflix worldwide. Season 7 is distributed to Mediacorp in Singapore. The series is stated to be inspired by The Canterville Ghost(which she read herself in elementary school), Lord of the Rings and A Series of Unfortunate Events. It is also stated that both Calum and Devan will have cystic fibrosis to connect both A Crazy EX Battle and 5 Seconds of Summer: Awakening. Filming started on September 21 2019 and ended a month later.
=== Casting ===
After cancelling 5 Seconds of Summer: Awakening, the original cast(Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, Michael Clifford, Ashton Irwin, Wengie, Collins Key and Devan Key) agreed to be part of the series. Later in October, South African-Australian actor and singer, Troye Sivan is added to the cast in the prologue. Tria stated that there will be more characters as soon as the series developed like A Crazy EX Battle. Irish singer Niall Horan and Canadian singer Justin Bieber appeared in Season 1 and Zoe Tria and Raphael Lau appeared in Season 2. Gun appeared in Season 3, Aidan Harney, Nia Lovelis and Rena Lovelis appeared in Season 4, Brad Simpson, Bindi Irwin and Robert Irwin appeared in Season 5, Connor Ball appeared in Season 6, Jamie Frankland, Lexi Rivera, Yuto Yoshida, Tanya Leong, Ben Azelart, Brent Rivera, Bea Miller, James McVey, Tristan Evans, Kris Wu, Louis Tomlinson, Yao Ming and Annika Osias appeared in Season 7, Yungblud and Halsey appeared in Season 8, Ken appeared in Season 9, Alan Stokes, Alex Stokes, Sheryl Lau, Thaiyo Kido, Sierra Deaton and Crystal Leigh appeared in Season 10, Reece Bibby, George Smith and Blake Richardson appeared in Season 11, Ankit Mishera appeared in Season 12, Danna Paola, Roman, AURORA and Aiden Cowell appeared in Season 13 and Caleb Burton and HRVY appeared in Season 14. Starting from Volume 2.5, new characters won't by added unless it's necessary.
=== Filming ===
The series is filmed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia for Prologue: Chapter 1 and 2 and Auckland, New Zealand later in the series. Sets in Australia include the University of Sydney, Luke Hemmings' house and Sydney Airport. Sets in New Zealand are located in the outskirts of Auckland most likely in the suburb of Arch Hill. Later in Season 5, filming in Sydney starts again during the pollution but most scenes take place indoors so the characters are safe. Later in Season 7, filming takes place in Singapore. In Season 14, filming takes place in Adelaide, Southern Australia, Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia and Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island, Australia. This replaced the Philippines special in response to the coronavirus outbreak however it will still be released on ABS-CBN along with the rest of the series.
== Anime ==
The anime version came out in 2020 and distributed by Toei Animation in Japan along with A Crazy EX Battle. It is available in English, Chinese and Japanese and it revolves around the plot of the live-action version. The characters also look the same except Calum, Devan, Troye, Luke, Shawn, Niall, Zoe, Michael, Ashton, Raphael, Kan, Harry, Rena, Brad, Connor, Bea, Yuto, Dominic, Alex, Reece, Blake and Harvey appear to have ahoges. This also applies to the manga version. The animation style is inspired by A Crazy EX Battle and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
== Video Game ==
Main Article: The Darkest Awakening(Video Game)
The video game adaptation of The Darkest Awakening is like a role-playing game revolving around the plot. Compared to A Crazy EX Battle, there are more cutscenes. The animation will also be in 3D but the characters will appear more realistic and have more detail compared to A Crazy EX Battle. It will also be available on PC and console. At the beginning of the game in Level 0(aka the Prologue), You'll first control Luke until you get to know the characters which are Calum, Devan, Collins, Troye, Shawn, Michael and Wendy then you'll be able to control them.
There are 8 chapters in Level 0 which revolves around the plot of the series. Ashton will also be unlocked along with the characters but you won't be able to control him until Chapter 7. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 0, you'll reach Level 1.
In Level 1, the characters that will be unlocked are Justin and Niall. However, you won't be able to control Niall until Chapter 1 and you won't be able to control Justin until Chapter 2. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 1, you'll reach Level 2.
In Level 2, the characters that will be unlocked are the twins, Zoe and Raphael. However, you won't be able to control Zoe until Chapter 1 and Raphael until Chapter 4. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 2, you'll reach Level 3.
In Level 3, the character that will be unlocked is Kan. However, you won't be able to control Kan until Chapter 2. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 3, you'll reach Level 4.
In Level 4, the characters that will be unlocked are Aidan, Michelangelo, Harry, Nia and Rena. However, Michelangelo can't be playable and you won't be able to control Aidan until Chapter 1 and Harry, Nia and Rena until Chapter 3. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 4, you'll reach Level 5.
In Level 5, the characters that will be unlocked are Robert, Bindi and Brad. However, you won't be able to control Brad until Chapter 3 and Robert and Bindi until Chapter 5. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 5, you'll reach Level 6.
In Level 6, the character that will be unlocked is Connor. However, you won't be able to control Connor until Chapter 5. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 6, you'll reach Level 7.
In Level 7, the characters that will be unlocked are Jamie, Annika, Brent, Bea, Lexi, Kris, Louis, Yao, Yuto, James, Tanya, Tristan and Ben. However, you won't be able to control them until Chapter 3. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 7, you'll reach Level 8.
There is also a twist in Level 7. When you are still controlling Brad after the cutscene in Siloso beach before Chase and Medusa gets their hands on him, the game will have to restart. After restarting, Brad's character will be whited out and you'll have to choose a different character. When you are still controlling a different character besides Brad, the game will go on smoothly.
In Level 8, the characters that will be unlocked are Dominic and Ashley. However, you won't be able to control them until Chapter 5. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 8, you'll reach Level 9.
There is a twist in Level 8. When you are still controlling Calum after the cutscene when he tries to heal James, he'll pass out and his health meter will be down. You'll have to select a new character when this happens. Also, after Calum passes out a cutscene will play, then, if you are still controlling a different character, your character will automatically change to Luke until he heals Calum. After that happens, Luke will automatically change back to the character you selected. If you did the opposite of what is said here, the game will go one smoothly.
In Level 9, the character that will be unlocked is Ken. However, you won't be able to control him until Chapter 2. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 9, you'll reach Level 10.
In Level 10, the characters that will be unlocked are Alan, Alex, Sheryl, Thaiyo, Sierra and Crystal. However, you won't be able to control Alan, Alex, Sheryl and Thaiyo until Chapter 1 and Sierra and Crystal until Chapter 3. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 10, you'll reach Level 11.
In Level 11, the characters that will be unlocked are Reece, George and Blake. However, you won't be able to control them until Chapter 1. Once you complete all of the chapters of Level 10, you'll reach Level 12.
There is a twist in Level 11, if you aren't controlling Blake during Medusa's battle in cyberspace, your chosen character will automatically change to Blake and you won't be able to turn him back until you chopped Medusa's head. If you are controlling Blake, everything will go smoothly.
In Level 12, the character that will be unlocked is Ankit. However you won't be able to control him until Chapter 2. Once you complete all of the chapters in Level 12, you'll reach Level 13.
In Level 13, the character that will be unlocked are Danna, Roman, Aurora and Aiden. However you won't be able to control them until Chapter 4. Once you complete all of the chapters in Level 13, you'll reach Level 14.
There is a twist in Level 14, when training the new recruits, you get to select either Danna, Roman, Aurora and Aiden. You get to train them until they are able to be new members.
To play in the console version, control the character by using the directional buttons of the DualShock, press triangle to jump, press circle to attack, press x to duck and press square to use powers when battle mode is on. Press square for a long time, you'll activate your powers. You can also press square to interact when you're not in battle mode and enter a section.
To play in the PC version, control the character by using the up, down, left and right arrows, press shift to jump, press spacebar to attack and press enter to use powers when battle mode is on. Press A, you'll activate your powers. Press the I key to interact. You can use the arrow keys to adjust and use the enter key to enter.
The game is also available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, Spanish and Maori.
The graphics is inspired by Spiderman PS4, The Sims and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
== Trivia ==
* The film is loosely based on The Canterville Ghost but it is mixed with Lord of the Rings and takes place in the modern times
* The recurring cast are well known for being in the Lord of the Rings film franchise
* Like A Crazy EX Battle, The Darkest Awakening is a multilingual series
** However, unlike A Crazy EX Battle which is also available in Chinese(Mandarin and Cantonese) and Japanese, The Darkest Awakening is also available in Maori though the Maori voice actors/actresses of the characters are currently unknown
** Later, the Chinese(Mandarin and Cantonese) and Japanese version are available
** The Tagalog dub will come out on April
* Ever since the Australian government place travel restrictions due to the coronavirus, the Philippines special is cancelled and will be replaced by a 3-Season special. They are:
** Season 12: Days In An Outbreak revolves around discovering that Caleb is the dragon amulet holder and there is a new character named Harvey. The entire team were sent to Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island on a mission because Chase and Medusa are in a quarantine centre. They took a train to Perth via Adelaide in order to go to Flying Fish Cove because there is an available flight from Perth too Christmas Island. Unfortunately, while fighting Chase and Medusa, they grabbed hold onto Blake and George which resulted in the team fighting them. After Chase and Medusa are out of Blake and George, they both got weaker and fell ill. Chase and Medusa went away like what happened in Singapore. The only thing the team has to do is take Blake and George to the hospital resulting in getting their infection back after a lung transplant. 
** Season 13: 14 Days In The Hospital happens after Days In An Outbreak and an entry to Volume 2.5. It will be narrated by Luke at the first bit but will later be narrated by Brad. There will no be new characters starting from this Season unless it's necessary. After coming back from Christmas Island, Luke fell ill. George is finally on oxygen while Blake is off and on oxygen, he only wears his nasal cannula at times. Luke decided that he will go to his own house and rest. Everyone was confused at first but they let him be. Sierra was worried about Luke because he's her boyfriend. Later, Luke's condition worsened and was rushed to the hospital by his mum and his friends. Once at the hospital, he was tested positive for COVID 19 with no travel history to the US, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy or any highly affected countries but he has travel history to an Australian external territory. This is not counted as overseas. This Season is like a diary, each chapter is named 'Day 1,' 'Day 2,' etc. Partially narrated by Luke but mostly by Brad. Also during a battle in this season, Brad got injured on his knee and developed sepsis so he was rushed to the hospital. He also fell ill but was tested negative for the virus.
** Season 14: ANZAC Day Special happens after 14 Days In The Hospital. Luke will come back as the main narrator. After recovering from the virus and after self-isolation for a while, he is back to hanging out with his university friends. Unfortunately, he started getting nightmares about fighting Japanese troops. Everyone was unsure until they went to the Australian War Memorial. There were no ANZAC Day marches due to the coronavirus outbreak. Also no dawn services but the group can go to that memorial to know more about Luke's nightmares. Meanwhile, Brad is still recovering from sepsis on his knee after a battle against Chase and Medusa. Things went wrong when Chase and Medusa came and Luke went overboard. He couldn't control his powers and fought the bad guys all by himself without help from his friends. Then it was revealed that he was a descendant of a World War 2 soldier who participated in the Pacific theatre.
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