Harmony Unleashed: Between Light & Darkness Part 1 - Celestial Requiem is an upcoming ensemble live-action/animated science fantasy film based on characters from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Equestria Girls and Pony Life, as well as Harmony Unleashed by Hasbro, produced by Hollowfox Filmworks, eOne Studios, Hyperobject Industries, SakamotoPro, Taralicious Enterprises, and distributed by Montalvo Releasing and 20th Century Studios.
It is the sequel to Harmony Unleashed (ft. Any Cartoon Involved): Cartoon Wars, as well as the follow-up to Once Upon a Time... In Miami: A Harmony Unleashed Production, part one of the two-parter final films in the Guardians of Equestria arc and the 21st film in the Harmony Unleashed Saga film series. It is directed by Aaron Montalvo and written by Montalvo, Adam McKay, Ian Brennan, Dave Polsky, Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit from a story by Montalvo, McKay, Damian Shannon & Mark Swift.
It is set to be released on July 2nd, 2021 with the direct sequel, Harmonical Ascension set to be released on December 24, 2021 in theatres and simultaneously on MontalVue through their VIP-OD banner for an additional price.
The two-parter will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Harmony Unleashed franchise with a double feature screening set to take place in New Jersey on November 11, 2021, as part of a "Harmony Unleashed: 120 Moons in 10 Years" Event.
Premise
After the events of Once Upon a Time... In Miami: A Harmony Unleashed Production, Aaron, his family and the gang announces a celebration to invite his friends far from home, as well as The Mane Six and their acquaintances to celebrate the retirement and succession of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as rulers of Equestria. However, when The Storm King, Tirek and Grogar will enforce its plans to turn both Equestria and the world into a dark dystopia, The Mane Six and the Guardians of Equestria, alongside the human ponies, will team up together to prevent the three villains from turning their world into darkness, even if it means losing casualties during one last fateful battle.
Cast
Production
A concept for a final film was in development for years during the run of the Harmony Unleashed Saga.
Companion Documentary Series
- Main article: [[Harmony Unleashed: Between Light and Darkness - Journey to the End]]
MontalVue announced a companion Documentary limited series about the making of the franchise's two final films in the Guardians of Equestria Arc, separated in two cours of four episodes set between 2021 and 2022.
Liz Garbus will direct the documentary series, which will be produced alongside Koichi Sakamoto Hollowfox's Aaron Montalvo, Hasbro's Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis, Taralicious' Tara Strong and Danny Zuker, Toei's Takeyuki Suzuki, and eOne's Tara Long.
Release
The film will be released on July 2, 2021 in 2D theatres, 3D theatres, drive-in theatres, Dolby Cinema and IMAX. Since being a two-parter, the film will be released back-to-back this year, as the second part will be released on December 24, 2021. The film will also be simultaneously released on MontalVue VIP-OD particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impact on movie theaters across the United States (alongside the concerns with the new strain), with many of them remaining closed.