Dark Road (film)


 * "Why did he become the seeker of darkness?"
 * —Tagline
 * Dark Road is a 2023 American computer-animated adventure film produced and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Synopsis
Xehanort was born in Scala ad Caelum and with the residents of the world believing him to be the fabled "Child of Destiny" as a baby he was sent away for his safety to Destiny Islands being cared for by the reincarnated Player. As a boy, he had the power to connect his heart with others growing up, he was plagued by dreams of Player's memories and wished to understand their meaning. Xehanort travelled to Scala ad Caelum and trained to become a Keyblade master alongside with Eraqus and his other apprentices.

Plot
Xehanort is watched over on Destiny Islands by his elderly mentor, the reborn player. The mentor believes Xehanort to be the "child of destiny", a prophesied savior of the world, and has sequestered him there to hide him from the true darknesses until he becomes strong enough to defeat them. Years later, the mentor passes away, content in having protected Ephemer's descendant.

Xehanort, living bored on the Destiny Islands, is approached by Ansem, his Heartless from the future, and is shuffled through a portal to Scala Ad Caelum, a world where Keyblade wielders are trained. Two years later, Xehanort – now a Keyblade wielder – and his classmates Eraqus, Urd, Bragi, Vor, and Hermod are told by their master, Odin, that seven upperclassmen have gone missing before their Mark of Mastery exam. Their fellow classmate Baldr has also left in search of his sister Hoder, who is one of the missing upperclassmen. Odin tasks the youths to explore the many worlds and find the missing students, reminding them not to interfere in the affairs of other worlds.

Xehanort and his friends eventually find Vidar, Vala and Vali, three of the upperclassmen, who have been stealing items essential to worlds' natural order. Vidar explains that they learned of the thirteen true darknesses from Odin, and that they now seek to purge the world of them by finding the seven pure lights needed to summon Kingdom Hearts. Realizing this could destroy the worlds, most of Xehanort's group opposes this, but a sympathetic Vor joins the upperclassmen. Baldr returns, revealing Hoder perished protecting him, and suggests they go to the Underworld to find her and gain more information on Vidar's plan. While there, they find the souls of Hoder and her fellow upperclassmen – Heimdall, Helgi and Sigrun – learning that Vidar's desire to purge the darkness was to avenge their deaths. Hades attempts to trap them all in the underworld, and the group is separated; only Xehanort and Eraqus are found and rescued by Odin.

After they return, Scala ad Caelum comes under attack by Baldr, revealed to have been possessed by an incarnation of true darkness, which killed Hoder to make Baldr vulnerable. Baldr reveals he killed the other upperclassmen to trick the survivors into summoning Kingdom Hearts, with which he intends to consume the worlds in darkness; when the upperclassmen abandoned the plan, Baldr killed Urd, Bragi and Hermod, planning to use all their deaths to summon Kingdom Hearts. Baldr kills Vidar, Vala, Vali and Vor before facing Xehanort and Eraqus in a final battle. With help from Odin and Hoder's spirit, Xehanort kills Baldr, destroying his darkness in the process. As they mourn their friends, Odin decides to retire, planning to make Xehanort and Eraqus his successors. Unbeknownst to them, Bragi is alive, having secretly been Luxu's latest vessel, and he decides to keep watch over Xehanort.

A year later, while preparing for his Mark of Mastery exam, Xehanort meets the Master of Masters. Their conversation, combined with his own observations over the following years, leads Xehanort to believe that darkness lives in every heart, and that there must be balance between light and darkness to maintain the worlds' order. Eraqus rebukes him, believing only in the purity of light, and the two go their separate ways. Xehanort spends the next sixty years studying darkness, eventually reconnecting with Eraqus when he leaves Ventus in his care after extracting the true darkness from Ventus's heart, which becomes Vanitas.

Cast

 * Benjamin Diskin as Xehanort
 * Drake Bell as Eraqus
 * as Hermod
 * as Bragi
 * as Urd
 * as Vor
 * as Vali
 * as Vala
 * as Vidar
 * as Heimdall
 * as Baldr
 * as Hoder
 * as Helgi
 * as Sigrun
 * as Odin
 * James Woods as Hades
 * Jonathan Freeman as Jafar
 * Alan Tudyk as Iago
 * Tress MacNeille as Queen of Hearts