My Hero Academia has had a stellar showing so far in 2021. With the manga slowly drawing to an epic conclusion and Season 5 well underway, what better way to celebrate the franchise further than with another movie?

Following the success of Heroes Rising, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is the third film installment for the franchise and marks a major shift in the series' story -- putting Deku in the precarious position of being painted as a villain. In the run-up to its release, here's everything you need to know about it.

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My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission's Plot

shoto katsuki izuku world heroes mission

In My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission, a mysterious terrorist group called the Humanize are introduced. They strongly believe in the "Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory." The theory states that as future generations continue to be mixed with the Quirk genes, the power it holds will lead to humanity’s demise. Furthermore, Humanize believes that Quirks are a disease, and so, they plan to “cleanse the world” by exterminating anyone who has one.

Humanize planted "Ideo Trigger Bombs" in various countries, and these explosives are said to make a Quirk-user lose control of their Quirk, leading to mass destruction. To save and protect everyone, Pro-Heroes from around the world, and the U.A. Academy heroes-in-training, unite to thwart the efforts of the mysterious group.

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My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission - Trailers & Release Date

A teaser trailer was released on March 27, providing some key clips hinting at the movie’s storyline. In this teaser, we see an uprising of a mysterious cult, Izuku Midoriya becoming a wanted fugitive for committing mass murder, and a united front of new and familiar heroes battling against an unknown force. The trailer also showcases three fan-favorite heroes who are currently training at Endeavor’s agency, Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki, as a team.

Many fans found the revelation of Midoriya as a wanted criminal comical and wondered what the reasoning was behind Midoriya’s “murder spree.” Given his shonen hero status, kind-hearted nature and desire to save people, we can safely speculate that Midoriya has been falsely accused and may need to clear his name.

The film looks to build upon the My Hero Academia universe by including an international team of heroes and showcasing new gear and wardrobe for the central trio. Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki’s stealth suits have an embroidered emblem with “W.H.A” on their shoulders, which most likely stands for “World Hero Association.” With the anticipated introduction of heroes and villains from around the world, this looks to be MHA's most expansive film yet, branching out beyond Japan.

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On June 15, the official trailer for My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission was released, with another following on July 19. The trailer features new scenes from the movie, specifically showcasing the two new characters, Flect Turn and Rody Soul, as well as montages of our favorite characters joining together to stop the Humanize. We also got to hear a snippet of the film's title track, "Empathy" by the J-rock band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, who have performed songs for other popular anime series, such as Naruto and Bleach. Asian Kung-Fu Generation will also perform an insert song in the movie titled “Flowers.” The melodic song will be featured during a scene involving Deku and Rody Soul.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is set to be released in Japan on August 6. There is has yet to be an announcement as to when the movie will be released worldwide, but we can assume that it will head to U.S. theaters due to the box office success of the previous two films, MHA: Two Heroes and MHA: Heroes Rising.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission - News to Know

Endeavor and a bunch of other heroes ready to attack.

The official website for the movie has released the costume designs for Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki. Each of the black stealth suits has a unique hood to compliment each character -- Midoriya’s hood has the “rabbit ears” (a subtle reference to All-Might’s signature hairdo), while Bakugo's hood has spikes to match his usual costume, and Todoroki has an oversized hood that wraps around his neck.

Series creator Kohei Horikoshi will serve as chief supervisor and original character designer and the original cast and production members of the previous movies are returning, too. Kenji Nagasaki will direct the new film alongside scriptwriter Yousuke Kuroda and composer Yuki Hayashi.

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The official movie's Twitter page also announced that the movie will feature a new character: Rody Soul, who can also be seen in freshly-released visuals. Although not much is known about him, Rody Soul keeps his intentions hidden and secretly distrusts heroes. Thus, it is unknown whether he will be helping Midoriya and the other heroes or he will be siding with Humanize. Rody was created by Kohei Horikoshi and will be voiced by Ryo Yoshizawa (Tokyo Revengers, Gintama 2).

In addition, another key visual has been released for the anime film, which first appeared in Shonen Jump. In this new visual, Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki are eyeing surpassing their superhero mentors and set up new legacies as heroes.  For Todoroki, it's his father's legacy; Midoriya wants to surpass the legacy of his favorite hero -- All-Might -- and Bakugo aims to impress Best Jeanist, his internship mentor. This new visual is featured as a clear file and will be given alongside a presale ticket for the movie in select theaters in Japan, starting on June 25.

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Moviegoers who attend the opening screenings of the film in Japan will also receive a special limited-edition manga by Horikoshi. The manga will feature a new, original story, an interview with the series' creator and the editors of Shonen Jump, and some information regarding the new character designs.

A new character for the film has also been revealed. Previously, fans only got a glimpse at the new villains, Humanize, from the teaser trailer. We now know the name of the primary villain who leads Humanize, Flect Turn. It's also been announced that the voice actor for Flect Turn is Kazuya Nakai (Gintama and Samurai Champloo).

Just before the premiere of the new film, there was a special World Fan Meeting Event, for which fans were able to send video messages to the cast and crew of the third MHA movie. The event was held on July 19 via YouTube.

In addition, to promote the movie, Episode 16 of MHA's currently airing Season 5 featured a special post-credit movie tease. In this teaser, viewers got to see the villain Flect Turn, who announces that while he has failed to obtain more of the Trigger drug, he still has enough to “save humanity.” This teaser in the series also confirms when the movie takes place in the series' timeline: between the "Endeavor Agency" and the "My Villain Academia" arcs.

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My Hero Academia: World Mission poster

The movie has also been confirmed to take place in many real-world locations: France, Japan, Egypt, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia and a fictional European place, Otheon, meaning that fans will get to see many Pro Heroes and young hero students team up with others from around the world.

Speaking of which, two of these professional heroes have already been introduced. The two new heroes are Claire Voyance, voiced by Yoko Honna (Whisper of the Heart) and Alan Kay, voiced by Hirofumi Nojima (Hunter x Hunter).

In addition, the film has also released character bios for four of the new villains that are part of the Humanize group. Beros/Belos, voiced by Mariya Ise (Hunter x Hunter), is part of Humanize’s soldier troops and a loyal servant to Flect. She can turn her hand into a bow and control the object she shoots out of it. Shidero, voiced by Yuichiro Umehara (Goblin Slayer), is also part of the Humanize’s soldier troops. He creates iron balls and flicks them at his opponents. Sir Pentas, voiced by Junya Enoki (Jujutsu Kaisen), are a twin duo. The older brother is Ena and the younger one is Dio. They can create swords. Lastly, Leviathan, voiced by Shogo Sakata (Fairy Ranmaru), who has a large and sturdy frame, can create powerful water current twists.

Funimation announced that Robbie Daymond has been cast as the English voice for the villain, Flect Turn. There has still not been any news of a worldwide release date for the movie, but Daymond's casting confirms that the movie is going to be released to international viewers sooner rather than later.

Furthermore, a special one-shot chapter prequel entitled “Endeavor’s Mission” was recently published through Viz Media’s Shonen Jump app. The one-shot is written by Yoko Akiyama, an assistant to Horikoshi, and set before the events in the movie. Endeavor sets up a test for Deku, Bakugo and Todoroki to determine whether they are worthy to be part of Endeavor’s Hero Agency. The test involves the three of them attempting to land an attack on Endeavor within a time limit. The chapter also features the trio acquiring stealth suits that match the costume designs from the movie.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is set to premiere in Japan on August 6, 2021.

KEEP READING: Will My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Be Canon?