After Kenji Nagasaki’s 2021 My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission, the fan-favorite Pro Heroes and Class 1-A students will soon return to the big screen in My Hero Academia: You’re Next. This time, Deku and his fellow heroes will face a man who resembles the former No. 1 hero, All Might, named Dark Might. As his uncanny resemblance to All Might and identity remain a mystery, My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi reveals how the fourth anime movie’s villain was conceived.
In an interview for the August 2024 issue of Da Vinci magazine (as translated by X user @shibuyamash), Horikoshi and screenwriter Yosuke Kuroda talked about how Dark Might came to life and became the villain of My Hero Academia: You’re Next. It all started with Kuroda’s plan to create an evil version of All Might while working on the movie’s plot. However, the mangaka decided to make a full-blown antagonist opposite All Might and named him Dark Might.
“There was a 'Black All Might' idea in the plot proposals that Kuroda-san had come up with,” he said. “So, I probably had that vaguely in mind.”
Horikoshi also considered adding flowers or something stylish to the character’s design and discussed with Kuroda how changing the villain's colors would be interesting. That idea seemed to have materialized, as Dark Might could be seen wearing a white suit paired with a blue cape and the same-colored button-down collar undershirt with a dark bow. His character image also features him with a red rose pinned on his lapel.
Talking about his personality, Kuroda revealed they started with the idea of a villain who “misinterprets connections between people.” From there, Horikoshi showed off his drawing of Dark Might, which Kuroda found another perfect design from the author, finally connecting the pieces of the puzzle they were missing and helping him continue his work.
“After that, I was able to dive into my work for the movie without hesitation,” he continued.
Who is Dark Might in My Hero Academia: You’re Next?
Dark Might is the main antagonist of My Hero Academia: You’re Next. He looks distinctively similar to young All Might when the latter still has a muscular physique. However, there are still a few differences between the two. Dark Might’s nose is more hooked, and his eyebrows are bushier. He also mainly wears a white tuxedo suit with black accents, white pants, and dress shoes.
His unnamed glowing booster quirk lets him make his hand glow a bright yellow and seemingly increases his speed and strength. His power also allows him to utilize some of All Might’s strongest Ultimate Moves, giving him the rapid speed of powerful punches that rival All Might’s same ability when he was still in his prime. That said, his abilities seem to be on par with All Might’s powers and skills when he held One For All at a young age after graduating from U.A.
What is My Hero Academia: You’re Next about?
My Hero Academia: You’re Next will take place after the Paranormal Liberation War. Society has already distrusted heroes after what happened between the heroes and the villains. But just right after this conflict, a mysterious giant fortress appears and swallows up the cities and many civilians all at once. Naturally, the heroes will investigate this matter and be surprised to see the man behind this new threat: Dark Might. As the world is once again in danger, Deku and the Class 1-A will gear up for another epic battle.
You can read the My Hero Academia: You’re Next synopsis below:
In the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War, Japan has fallen into societal collapse and chaos, and a mysterious giant fortress suddenly appears, swallowing up cities and people one after another, so Izuku and members of Class 1-A must rise and fight for what remains against the new threat.
The anime movie is based on an original story featuring the characters of Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia manga. Produced by Bones and distributed by Toho, the film will be directed by Tensai Okamura from a script written by Kuroda. Its ensemble cast includes Daiki Yamashita as Deku, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Bakugo, Yuki Kaji as Shoto, Ayane Sakura as Ochaco Uraraka, Kaito Ishikawa as Tenya Ida, and Kenta Miyake as Dark Might and All Might.
It will be interesting to see how Deku and his classmates will take on a replica of their mentor. So, with the success of the third movie, earning about $50 million at the box office, let’s see how the fourth film will pan out.
My Hero Academia: You’re Next is set to release in theaters on August 2, 2024, in Japan and October 11, 2024 in North America.
