The Darkest Awakening

The Darkest Awakening is an Australian/New Zealand/American 2019 TV series loosely based on Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. 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 and Auckland, New Zealand.

Synopsis
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 year student Collins Key, 1st year 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 magicial bracelets which gives them special powers to fight the creeps. Will they get used to their new home in Auckland?

Luke Hemmings
Portrayed by: Luke Hemmings

Born: 16 July 1996

Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Nationality: Australian

Occupation: 2nd Year University Student

Age: 23

Power: Light

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Luke Robert Hemmings is university student entering his 2nd year. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. He accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Light which gives him the ability to light the way during dark times. He is friends with Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins, Shawn and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become white.

Calum Hood
Portrayed by: Calum Hood

Born: 25 January 1996

Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Nationality: Australian

Occupation: 2nd Year University Student

Age: 23

Power: Wind

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Calum Thomas Hood is university student entering his 2nd year and he has cystic fibrosis and always brings an oxygen tank and nasal cannulas. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Wind which gives him the ability to make forceful winds from his hands. He is friends with Luke, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins, Shawn and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become blue.

Michael Clifford
Portrayed by: Michael Clifford

Born: 20 November 1995

Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Nationality: Australian

Occupation: 2nd Year University Student

Age: 24

Power: Force

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Michael Gordon Clifford is university student entering his 2nd year. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Force which gives him the ability to force things to move without even holding them. He is friends with Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins, Shawn and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become scarlet.

Troye Sivan
Portrayed by: Troye Sivan

Born: 5 June 1995

Birthplace: Johannesburg, South Africa

Nationality: South African, Australian

Occupation: 2nd Year University Student

Age: 24

Power: Flexibility

University: University of Perth(1st Year), University of Sydney(2nd Year)

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Troye Sivan Mellet is university student entering his 2nd year. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Flexibility which gives him the ability to stretch his arms and legs. He is friends with Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Collins, Shawn and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become light green.

Wendy Huang
Portrayed by: Wengie

Born: 9 January 1997

Birthplace: Guangzhou, China

Nationality: Chinese, Australian

Occupation: 2nd Year University Student

Age: 22

Power: Darkness

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Wenjie 'Wendy' Huang is university student entering her 2nd year and the only female main character. When she and her peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, she and her peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. She is given the amulet of Darkness which gives her the ability to send dark clouds from her hands. She is friends with Luke, Calum, Michael, Troye, Collins, Shawn and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever her powers are used, her pupils and irises disappear and her eyes become black.

Collins Key
Portrayed by: Collins Key

Born: 9 May 1996

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

Nationality: American

Occupation: 2nd Year University Student

Age: 23

Power: Nature

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Collins Joseph Key is university student entering his 2nd year and is Devan's older brother. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Nature which gives him the ability to grow plants without manually using them. He is friends with Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Shawn and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become green.

Devan Key
Portrayed by: Devan Key

Born: 17 April 1998

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

Nationality: American

Occupation: 1st Year University Student

Age: 21

Power: Flight

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Devan Key is university student entering his 1st year and is Collins' younger brother and like Calum, he has cystic fibrosis and always brings an oxygen tank and nasal cannulas. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Flight which gives him the ability to fly. He is friends with Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins and Shawn and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become red.

Shawn Mendes
Portrayed by: Shawn Mendes

Born: 8 August 1998

Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Nationality: Canadian

Occupation: 1st Year University Student

Age: 21

Power: Fire

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes is university student entering his 1st year. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He is given the amulet of Fire which gives him the ability to shoot fire from his hands. He is friends with Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins and Devan and temporarily rivals against Ashton due to his intimidating appearance. Whenever his powers are used, his pupils and irises disappear and his eyes become orange.

Ashton Irwin
Portrayed by: Ashton Irwin

Born: 7 July 1994

Birthplace: Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia

Nationality: Australian

Occupation: 3rd Year University Student

Age: 25

Power: None

University: University of Sydney

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Ashton Fletcher Irwin is university student entering his 3rd year. When he and his peers were transferred to Auckland, New Zealand, they were staying in a creepy, old fashioned house. When exploring the place that night, something was glowing on the bookshelf. Luke accidently touched it when all of the sudden, he and his peers were falling down from the trap door to the underground. That's when they meet an old man who is the guardian. He isn't given any amulet because of his intimidating appearance. He is friends with Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins and Devan and though they temporarily rival him.

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.

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)

Dominic Monaghan as Professor Baxter he is Luke, Calum, Michael, Wendy, Troye, Collins, Devan and Shawn's professor and guide while in Auckland.

Episodes
Wattpad link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/199823673-the-darkest-awakening

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. The series is stated to be inspired by The Canterville Ghost(which she read herself in elementary school) and Lord of the Rings. 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. Tria stated that there will be more characters as soon as the series developed like A Crazy EX Battle.

Filming
The series is filmed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia for 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.

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