History Main / MultipleChoiceChosen

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Master Oogway is to choose one of the Furious Five (who have all received extensive kung fu training) to become the Dragon Warrior, but ends up choosing Po by pure dumb luck. However, he accepts this as destiny and sticks with his decision.

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Initially, there's only one candidate for TheChosenOne specified in the Great Prophecy, Percy Jackson (since it necessitates a demigod child of either Hades, Zeus, or Poseidon to reach their DangerousSixteenthBirthday, and he's the only one they know about). However, more candidates appear in later books -- other demigod kids of those three gods born earlier and have had their aging halted by extraneous circumstances -- and the gods attempt to manipulate which one the chosen one will be to suit their own ends. In the climax of the last book, [[spoiler:it's confirmed that Percy is the half-blood child who will make the choice that determines Olympus' fate, but that the hero's soul mentioned in the same prophecy is [[ProphecyTwist Luke's, not his]].]]

* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' season 7 we learn about Potentials, girls all over the world who have the potential to become the next Vampire Slayer once the current one dies. Buffy gathers a bunch of them together in her house to teach them about slaying for when the time comes that one of them will be chosen.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', about halfway through the main quest the PlayerCharacter finds the Cave of the Incarnate, where you can meet several 'Failed Incarnate' ghosts; shades of Dunmer who met certain criteria for the [[TheChosenOne Nerevarine Prophecy]], but for whatever reason failed others or died before they could complete the necessary trials. A popular fan theory is that there isn't really one ''true'' Nerevarine, but that anyone who fills the criteria set forth in the prophesy can ''become'' the Nerevarine via a strange phenomenon in the Elder Scrolls setting known as 'mantling' (basically, you become so similar to an existing entity that nobody, including reality itself, can tell the difference any more).

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Trelawney's prophecy about TheChosenOne to defeat Lord Voldemort applied to both Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom at the time that she said it (both were born at the end of July/beginning of August to parents who escaped Voldemort three times), but Voldemort himself chose Harry when he tried to kill him (by "mark[ing] him as his equal"; i.e. Harry's scar), which applied the final part of the prophecy to Harry only. Neville still ends up being instrumental to his defeat.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', about halfway through the main quest the PlayerCharacter finds the Cave of the Incarnate, where the shades of several Dunmer who met the basic conditions of [[TheChosenOne the Nerevarine Prophecy]] can be found. They all died under various circumstances before they could fulfill the prophecy. A popular fan theory is that there isn't really one ''true'' Nerevarine, but that anyone who fills the criteria set forth in the prophesy can ''become'' the Nerevarine via a strange phenomenon in the Elder Scrolls setting known as 'mantling' (basically, you become so similar to an existing entity that nobody, including reality itself, can tell the difference any more).

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Trelawney's prophecy about TheChosenOne to defeat Lord Voldemort applied to both Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom at the time that she said it, but Voldemort himself chose Harry when he tried to kill him, which applied the final part of the prophecy to Harry only. Neville still ends up being instrumental to his defeat.

** At the start of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', four individuals, one from each of the races the player can choose from, are present at the Conclave for various reasons. One of those four [[spoiler:overheard the Divine being attacked and interrupted a blood magic ritual,]] resulting in that person gaining the Anchor that makes them the only person capable of doing anything about [[HellGate the Breach]]. The other three were among the many casualties of the Breach's opening.
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', about halfway through the main quest the PlayerCharacter finds the Cave of the Incarnate, where the shades of several Dunmer who met the basic conditions of [[TheChosenOne the Nerevarine Prophecy]] can be found. They all died under various circumstances before they could fulfill the prophecy. A popular fan theory is that there isn't really one ''true'' Nerevarine, but that anyone who fills the criteria set forth in the prophesy can ''become'' the Nerevarine via a strange phenomenon in the Elder Scrolls setting known as "mantling."

* In ''VideoGame/{{Wandersong}}'', this is what ultimately starts the plot. Everybody in the world got a dream involving the Angel and the sword, but only Audrey Redheart passed the test, making her the Hero.

* ''Webcomic/RiceBoy:'' T-O-E is a [[TheChooserOfTheOne Seeker]], charged with finding and naming the Fulfiller of an ancient prophecy. According to the terms of the prophecy, the Fulfiller will bring back the Avatar of Mind and restore balance to the world by changing form three times, journeying to the Iron Tower, and then dying. The twist is that T-O-E's word is no guarantee that a designated Fulfiller will succeed at the quest, or even try in the first place. He's been naming Fulfillers for thousands of years, and they've all turned into [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] or [[ThePoorlyChosenOne otherwise proven themselves unsuitable]].
** All of that's in the backstory. In the present, T-O-E's latest candidate is the humble Rice Boy--who, to everyone's surprise, looks like he might actually fulfill the prophecy. Rice Boy changes form three times, and he reaches the Iron Tower. And at that point, he realizes the final twist: [[spoiler:T-O-E, who accompanied him to the Iron Tower for his protection, has also changed form three times, and could very well be the Fulfiller himself. Sure enough, an old enemy kills T-O-E immediately after, and that finally fulfills the prophecy.]]

--> '''[[WhamLine <Hello Rightful/ Alternate/ REDACTED Director>]]'''

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' original trilogy, there are only two Force-sensitive individuals among the younger generation: Luke Skywalker [[spoiler: and his sister Leia]]. But Obi-Wan chooses to send Luke to Yoda for training, and does not seem to consider the other. Yoda is mindful of the other option though, just in case Luke falls to the Dark Side or dies. [[spoiler:It turns out their father Anakin was TheChosenOne via ProphecyTwist: Luke ultimately convinces his father to pull a HeelFaceTurn, and Anakin kills his master and dies himself.]]

* Played with in ''Literature/TheBrightestShadow''. [[spoiler:If one Hero is killed, The Legend pretends that person was never the Hero at all and a different person was supposedly the Hero all along.]]
* In ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', this is the result of an ancient catastrophe that divided the universe: two Prophecies, each a SentientCosmicForce with a long chain of [[TheChosenOne Chosen Ones]] to champion it, and the final victory of one Prophecy over the other decided by a mortal third party.
* Takes place at a species level in ''Literature/{{Lensman}}''. The Arisians have been selectively breeding four species to the point where their offspring would be Stage 3 Lensmen. They eventually settle on humans.
* ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'' combines this with ProphecyTwist in the third book: a dragon has awoken and is destined to undergo a MutualKill with a descendant of someone he fought in the past--which happens to include Merlin's grandfather. However, at the end of the story we learn that said dragon ''also'' once fought [[spoiler:the kreelixes, AntiMagic creatures that have been causing trouble throughout the book]].
** ''Literature/TheGreatTreeOfAvalon'' takes an interesting approach, as there are two Chosen Ones: the AmbiguouslyEvil Child of the Dark Prophecy, said to be born during [[TheStarsAreGoingOut Year of Darkness]], and the Heir of Merlin, a BigGood who is described as being "like a brother" to the former. Throughout the first book it's implied that the adoptive brothers Tamwyn and Scree, both born during the Year of Darkness, fit the two roles, but it's not clear who is who. It turns out that [[spoiler:Tamwyn is ''both'']].
* In ''Literature/LegendOfTheAnimalHealer'', Martine (who is white and half-African) feels guilty about being chosen because [[WhiteMansBurden she's not native to the region]]. Her mentor explains that every child has the ''chance'' to be chosen, but that [[TheChooserOfTheOne Jemmy]] was looking for one with a very complicated, specific mix of heroic traits. It's not about race, or even moral superiority, but having the willingness and ability to do a very specific job. A job that involves healing animals ''all across the world'', not just African ones.

* ''Franchise/DragonAge''

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Initially, there's only one candidate for TheChosenOne specified in the Great Prophecy, Percy Jackson (since it necessitates a demigod child of either Hades, Zeus, or Poseidon to reach their DangerousSixteenthBirthday, and he's the only one they know about). However, more candidates appear in later books -- other demigod kids of those three gods born earlier and have had their aging halted by extraneous circumstances -- and the gods attempt to manipulate which one the chosen one will be to suit their own ends.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' original trilogy, there are only two Force-sensitive individuals among the younger generation: Luke Skywalker [[spoiler: and his sister Leia]]. But Obi-Wan chooses to send Luke to Yoda for training, and does not seem to consider the other. Yoda is mindful of the other option though, just in case Luke falls to the Dark Side or dies.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Trelawny's prophecy about TheChosenOne to defeat Lord Voldemort applied to both Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom at the time that she said it, but Voldemort himself chose Harry when he tried to kill him, which applied the final part of the prophecy to Harry only. Neville still ends up being instrumental to his defeat.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Doctor Strange, ChooserOfTheOne for the universe at large, imply that while Harry is TheChosenOne, he could have arranged for ''anyone'' to take the role. He picked Harry specifically for his personality.

* ''Webcomic/RiceBoy:'' T-O-E is a [[TheChooserOfTheOne Seeker]], charged with finding and naming the Fulfiller of an ancient prophecy. According to the terms of the prophecy, the Fulfiller will bring back the Avatar of Mind and restore balance to the world by changing form three times, journeying to the Iron Tower, and then dying. The twist is that T-O-E's word is no guarantee that a designated Fulfiller will succeed at the quest, or even try in the first place. He's been naming Fulfillers for thousands of years, and they've all turned into [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] or [[ThePoorlyChosenOne otherwise proven themselves unsuitable]].\\
All of that's in the backstory. In the present, T-O-E's latest candidate is the humble Rice Boy--who, to everyone's surprise, looks like he might actually fulfill the prophecy. Rice Boy changes form three times, and he reaches the Iron Tower. And at that point, he realizes the final twist: [[spoiler:T-O-E, who accompanied him to the Iron Tower for his protection, has also changed form three times, and could very well be the Fulfiller himself. Sure enough, an old enemy kills T-O-E immediately after, and that finally fulfills the prophecy.]]