History Main / TheChosenOne

* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfShanShan'', [[http://shanshan.upperrealms.com/view.php?pageid=005&chapterid=1 a golden dragon in the sky told Shan Shan he would help save the world one day.]]

* Spoofed in [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0145.html this trope-heavy episode]] of ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''.

* In ''Webcomic/DraconisWicked'', [[http://www.lepusstudios.com/dw_ch2_p10.html Draconis only realizes that the prophecy would make him this after he tries to exploit it.]]

* ''Webcomic/MagIsa'': In this comic, [[http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119154 it gets parodied]].

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5 Edition has the Favored Soul class, a character with an intuitive connection to a deity who can spontaneously cast divine spells. They are also automatically proficient with their deity's favored weapon, and gain bonuses to using it as they level up (traditional Clerics, on the other hand, may be able to summon self-wielding versions, but aren't proficient by default). They are also one of only two base classes in the game that has no weak saving throws.
* Gerrard from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is destined to defeat the dark god Yawgmoth. This is revealed to be so because he is the end result of Urza's millennium-long Bloodlines project. He is also at one point proclaimed to be the Korvecdal, the savior of the Kor, Vec and Dal tribes, but this title is later bestowed on Eladamri instead.
* Deconstructed in ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'', where the Queen of Mirror is looking for the "True Heir", a [[MagicalGirl Princess]] who, according to her, will finally defeat [[TheDarkSide the All-Consuming Darkness]] and bring the Light back in power, essentially fixing everything in the setting. There are only two problems with this: 1) Her criterias to qualify as a True Heir are completely unrealistic for [[CrapsackWorld this universe]], and 2) She has no clear idea ''how'' to identify this "True Heir", so she handles this issue by telling ''every single Princess she recruits'' that they are the one, and waiting for the good one to prove herself. This has resulted in her entire Court either becoming [[RoyalBrat childish egomaniac brats]] who are all [[ItsAllAboutMe literally convinced to be the center of the universe]] BecauseDestinySaysSo and [[NoHonorAmongThieves hate each other for being candidate to the title of True Heir]], or just suffering a brutal SanitySlippage as they fail to live up to her ridiculously high standards.
* ''TabletopGame/InterstitialOurHeartsIntertwined'' has The Chosen playbook, naturally. The moves are designed around dishing out extra damage and protecting both yourself and your friends.

* In ''Webcomic/WhenSheWasBad'', Amber Price is decreed to be the Chosen One by an order of mysterious caped people. The main focus of the story, however, is on her nemesis, the VillainProtagonist Gail Swanson.
* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal''
** Parodied in [[http://smbc-comics.com/comic/chosen "Chosen"]], where the Chosen One who saves his people from the dragon does so by getting eaten and being so unappetising the dragon leaves them alone.
** {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/the-chosen-one "The Chosen One"]], where the kid who hears he's prophesied to be the Chosen One decides to give up trying to do anything right in life because he knows he's going to do something great and become famous for it. Forty years later, he saves the world or something by stabbing the demon Mordrax in the back because he's drunk and mistakes him for a teenager who owes him money for meth.
* ''Webcomic/DragonSanctuary'' began conceptually as a deconstruction of the trope. Dean Kiata is the chosen one from a family of (mostly) chosen ones, and since the name and the legend were well known across the Pearl it was only a matter of time before shadow worshippers slaughtered the whole Kiata family, sometimes ''entire cities'', in order to wipe them out.
* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob:'' At the end of "The Island And the Idol," Bob ''strenuously'' objects to the fact that people seem to be starting to treat him as this, emphasizing that most of the good guys' victories have been team efforts, and asks, "Why does ''anybody'' think I know what I'm doing?!"

* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', every few centuries, when The Balance is threatened, the Tao requires a mortal to take up the magical jade sword Destiny's Wave, and become the Handmaid Of The Tao. The Handmaid is always a beautiful teenaged Chinese girl, but Chou Lee, the current Handmaid, was [[spoiler: chosen by the Tao, and transformed by the sword from a chubby white boy from Knoxville, Tennessee called Alex Farshine]].
* ''Literature/EnginesOfCreation'': Terra Murphy is given the abilities of a Green Seer immediately after her arrival in the Pactlands through birthright.
* In ''Literature/{{Phaeton}}'' Trayen is this, but whether he is supposed to save the world or destroy it is unknown so far.

* ''Blog/HowToHero'' has a whole post about them [[https://howtohero.tumblr.com/post/167543091647/being-the-chosen-one here]].

* In ''Literature/CurseWords'', prophecy tells Kayden that he is the Chosen One. When it refuses to elaborate on whom he's chosen by or for what, he concludes that it's making stuff up to manipulate him.

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': The Demiurges and the angels are convinced that Zaid, Allison's boyfriend, is the prophecized successor of the Conquering King. They believe that they "broke" the prophecy by kidnapping Zaid before he could inherit the power, and scheme to kill Allison and give it to him. The Conquering King himself, however, implies that Allison was always his choice for heir--and even if she wasn't, due to the way prophecies work it is ''impossible'' for it to be wrong, and much more likely that everyone just misinterpreted it.

* In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/30354576/chapters/74829708 Z to A]]", the essence of the Infinity Stones each choose one hero and send their future memories back to the time of ''Film/Captain AmericaCivilWar'' to change the future; Peter Parker (Soul), Wanda Maximoff (Mind), T'Challa (Power), Tony Stark (Time), Nick Fury (Space) and Thor (Reality), based on their relative level of contact with each particular Stone. However, [[spoiler:Peter is ultimately revealed to be ''the'' "Chosen One", as the Stones choose him to be capable of using a new Gauntlet long enough to destroy Thanos's forces without being killed by the effort himself; after Tony's sacrifice and Steve Rogers going back in time in the original timeline, Peter was the one with most contact with the Stones from both prior Gauntlets]].

* TheChosenZero: The Chosen One is a LoserProtagonist who's true potential must be discovered.

-->'''Xander''': "I’ve seen the whole ‘One person in all the world’ system at work before and it is bullshit. Always has been, always will be. If everyone wants peace then EVERYONE FIGHTS!"

--->'''Parson''': Great. How many prophecies am I fulfilling?\\
'''Isaac''': Three. Well, four.

-->'''Dark One''': Don't screw this up. No pressure, though.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': An ancient conflict between [[JerkassGods the gods]] and [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Salem]] has left humanity a shattered remnant of its former glory. The God of Light tasked the great hero [[WideEyedIdealist Ozma]] to guide humanity towards TheDayOfReckoning. [[spoiler:He must unite people in harmony and prove to the gods that humanity can be redeemed; if he fails, both humanity and Remnant itself will be destroyed. The God of Light decided to make Ozma [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnate over and over]] into the bodies of living men to ensure that [[BigGood Ozma]] would never be alone. Professor Ozpin was the inheritor of this divine mission until responsibility passed to Oscar. The catch is that uniting humanity is impossible as long as [[BigBad Salem]] exists... and Salem is [[CompleteImmortality impossible to kill]].]]

* In season four of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', [[spoiler: Tucker]] becomes the chosen one for an alien prophecy after finding a sword (which he kicks ass with). The prophecy included a lot of Great things.

{{Subtrope}}s include:

!!Examples:

* HijackedDestiny: They were supposed to be The Chosen One, but something interfered and were passed over.

* HijackedDestiny: They were supposed to be The Chosen One, but something interfered and where passed over.

* BirthmarkOfDestiny: You know they're the Chosen One because they have a distinguishing mark.

* BirthmarkOfDestiny
* TheChosenMany
* TheChosenPeople
* TheChosenWannabe
* TheChosenZero
* TheChooserOfTheOne
* HijackedDestiny
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne
* LegacyOfTheChosen
* MultipleChoiceChosen
* OnlyTheChosenMayRide
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield
* ThePoorlyChosenOne
* TheUnchosenOne

* In ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'', [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2013/06/27/0494-the-golden-age-of-raccoons/ the raccoon goddess claims Lily will give birth to this]] -- and then, laughing, tells him not to believe what TheTrickster says.

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob:'' At the end of "The Island And the Idol," Bob ''strenuously'' objects to the fact that people seem to be starting to treat him as this, emphasizing that most of the good guys' victories have been team efforts, and asking, "Why does ''anybody'' think I know what I'm doing?!"

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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** The title character Buffy Summers -- at least until the end of season one where it becomes subverted when Buffy was drowned and quickly resuscitated. She is replaced by Kendra Young, then Faith Lehane, but for all intents and purposes, Buffy is still the Slayer. All Slayers before Buffy (Nikki Wood, the First Slayer, etc) play this trope straight. They rarely live to see their 20s, and tend to be ''chosen'' when they're extremely young, at 15-17 if they're exceptionally lucky, and do not get discovered by the Watcher's Council particularly quickly (as appears to be the case with both Buffy and Faith and many of the Potential Slayers during season 7, but not the case with Kendra, who gets an even shorter end of the stick: she is abandoned by her parents and raised by her Watcher). The "One" part of the Chosen One is very literal - "One girl in all the world." (At least until the end of Season One)
*** It is indicated towards the end of the series that the replacement slayers are already lined up to take over when their predecessor dies, in significant numbers too. Apparently some get activated a little too early, maybe the Prophecy is incapable of distinguishing when a Slayer is going to be BackFromTheDead. [[spoiler:In the end of the series, the Good Guys do some magic to speed along the "Choosing" of the potential Slayers, essentially creating an army of girls with their Slayer activated.]]
*** Creator/JossWhedon has hinted that despite activating all the potential Slayers, the "line of the Slayers" still runs through Faith Lehane and ''only'' through Faith Lehane, as she is the one-and-only Chosen One. He further has hinted that while the mass activation of the Slayers turned every potential alive at that point in time into a Slayer, no further Slayers will be activated until and unless Faith dies, at which point the Slayer line will continue with a Potential born ''after'' the mass activation.
** The Anointed One was also an intended chosen one, but happened to be in the form of a child. He got [[DroppedABridgeOnHim killed]] by a bigger and older vampire who ran out of patience.
** Funnily enough, despite being the one to stand alone against the forces of darkness, there are plenty of characters out there who make the Slayer look pathetic in comparison. Doesn't even have to be a villain, considering Willow is obviously so much more powerful than Buffy in the end. More often than not, Buffy has to rely on [[TrueCompanions her team's help]] or [[GuileHero some quick thinking]] to defeat any given villain. Like using an anti-tank rocket launcher (stolen by [[LethalJokeCharacter Xander]]) to take out The Judge, a demon who could kill her by touching her.
*** This is implied to be why Buffy has such a long lifespan compared to other Slayers-although individually quite powerful, Slayers who fight alone tend to die more quickly. Buffy's friends and their diverse skills often give the a Chosen One a much needed edge in the war of darkness.
** Sineya could be considered the ultimate chosen one as Slayers go, since she was the First Slayer, the root of all those chosen ones.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':
** The sisters are referred to as the Chosen ''Ones''.
** Wyatt Halliwell, Piper's firstborn son, is also known as the Chosen One, and is worthy of wielding Excalibur.
** An early episode has a young boy who was the only being who could wield an evil witch's wand for the side of good, as well as kill her. He was recognized as such due to the fact that he was the seventh son of a seventh son.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E1TheMasqueOfMandragora The Masque Of Mandragora]]", Hieronymous grows certain that he is specially chosen.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** The faith of the Lord of Light believes in a prophesied champion who will stand against the darkness. Melisandre believes she has found him in Stannis Baratheon.
** The ''dosh khaleen'' prophesied that Daenerys and Drogo's son would be "The Stallion Who Mounts the World," the legendary unifier of the Dothraki who will conquer the world.
** Bran is destined to be the only person who can truly defeat the White Walkers and the Night's King. When he first meets the Three-Eyed-Raven the raven tells Bran that he has been waiting for him to arrive for a thousand years. By the halfway point of Season 6, Bran fully inherits the powers of the Three-Eyed-Raven and becomes his successor and his uncle Benjen tells Bran that when the Night's King finally invades Westeros, Bran will be the one to stand against him.
*** If the prophecies of the Prince That Was Promised are true and apply to his half-brother Jon Snow, then Bran may not face him alone. In a thematic parallel, Bran's visions of Jon's [[spoiler:true origins (revealing Jon to be Bran's cousin as he is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rheagar Targaryen) and his power to oppose the Night's King may make Bran the Merlin to Jon's Arthur.]]
** Melisandre's trying to sell this explanation to Gendry for why she abducted him. Then again, she was (ostensibly) instructed by R'hllor to find him and bring him back to Dragonstone.
** [[spoiler:While they all played a part, in the end it was Arya Stark who landed the killing blow on the Night King, ending the threat of the Army of the Dead and the Long Night.]]
* In ''Series/TheNineLivesOfChloeKing'', the title character was a prophesied 'Chosen One' destined to unite the prides of the cat beings called the Mai, of which she is one.
* Locke on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' appears to have been chosen for a special role. We just don't know what the role is or by whom he was chosen. Ben apparently ''used'' to be the chosen one. As he tells Locke, "Destiny is a fickle bitch."
** In an incredibly cruel twist, [[spoiler: it seems his special role, his destiny was to die off Island and return so that Jacob's currently unnamed rival could pose as him and kill Jacob]]...and [[spoiler:despite being said to be chosen by Jacob, he never even ''met'' the '''real''' Jacob while alive, implying that maybe the whole "chosen one" thing was just crap thought up by Jacob's nemesis (whose current FanNickname is Esau) so that he could return to life.]]
** It now turns out that [[spoiler:he was already one of a number of people selected by Jacob as candidates to succeed him. Other candidates include Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sawyer, and "Kwon" (either Sun or Jin).]]
* In ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' both Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin are chosen ones on opposing sides, following in a long line of both good and evil avatars. Also, [[spoiler: Sofie]] is revealed to be the final avatar late in the series.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Clark Kent in is referred to as a sort of 'chosen one' by the local Indian tribe, who call him 'Naman', the prophesied warrior who would destroy his worst enemy, Sagith. In fact this prophecy was [[spoiler:implanted in the tribe (along with metahuman [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] powers) by a Kryptonian visitor centuries ago.]]
** A look into the past reveals that Jor-El was once aided by Jonathan Kent's father Hiram. Before Jor-El left, Hiram assured him that the Kents would always be there for him if he needed them. Clark tells his parents that he doesn't believe him being sent to Smallville was a coincidence. Jor-El chose the Kents.
* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' definitely starts like this, with several (apparently) normal teenagers being selected to be defenders of Earth.
** Used to somewhat nebulous effect in ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy.'' That season's rangers are "chosen" because they were the only ones able to pull five legendary swords free from the ground, though by what or what exactly being "chosen" rates is unclear. In one episode villain Furio is unable to enter a cave to claim a legendary power source because he isn't "chosen" so they have to trick the rangers to go in and get it for them. But then you have the guy who pulled the sword meant for the red ranger never even getting to use it and passing it on to his younger brother, who has no problem becoming the red ranger in his place. It seems to be a very fluid condition.
** Fast forward about 13 years, and we have the prophecy of The Light: a person born from the most powerful sorceress and the most skilled swordsman who is destined to defeat the forces of darkness. ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' played this trope completely straight. [[spoiler:The Light is revealed to be Nick, the series's red ranger, who is the long-lost son of TheMentor Udonna and her, though unknown at the time, BrainwashedAndCrazy husband Leanbow a.k.a. Koragg.]]
* In ''Series/BabylonFive'' there is not just 'One' Chosen One but three of them! Or, alternately (and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything significantly]]), one with three parts (as Zathras puts it, The-One-Who-Was, The-One-Who-Is, and The-One-Who-Will-Be).
** The trio of Chosen Ones was probably (at least partially) a {{Retcon}} to explain how the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute could replace the previous Chosen One.
*** {{Retcon}} doesn't even begin to describe B5. JM Straczynski practically deserves to be listed under the CrazyPrepared trope for his contingency planning. From the very beginning, ''every single major character'', in ''all five seasons'' had an "out" written into the story so that they could be removed without affecting the storyline, and indeed, could be reintroduced later if necessary.
*** And he specifically stated in interviews that it was intentional to remove Sinclair (a popular character on B5) during the height of the series. Straczynski designed the show to have a beginning, a middle, and an end (plus 20,000 contingency plans) unlike most shows. But Sinclair leaving at the end of the first season (rather than sometime in Season 2 or 3) and coming back in later seasons was not a contingency plan - it was forced by actor Michael O'Hare's mental health issues (he had schizophrenia; his paranoid delusions weren't helped by the fact that his character was having less-paranoid delusions, as well). This led to JMS bullshitting for several years about how he had "realized Sinclair's arc had played out too quickly" and the character needed to be written out for story reasons; in reality, he had promised O'Hare to keep the circumstances of his departure from the show a secret until O'Hare died (JMS revealed it in May 2013, O'Hare having passed the previous September).
** The trope is also subverted in "Comes the Inquisitor." During this episode, the Inquisitor (on behalf of the Vorlons) tortures Delenn and Sheridan until they both proclaim that they're nothing special, that if they're killed others will just take their places, and that they most likely will die pointlessly and without glory.
*** That is revealed to be true. Sheridan [[spoiler:[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends]] and leaves beyond the Rim]], while Delenn [[spoiler:dies of old age.]]
* The new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' is swimming with them.
** Dr. Gaius Baltar is 'chosen' by the hallucinatory vision of the Cylon Number Six (which vision is usually called "Head-Six") to serve the One True God, and she manipulates him to that end over the course of the entire run of the series, from scientist to political leader to champion of the downtrodden underclass to religious icon. She actually calls him 'the chosen one' on several occasions. Interestingly, no matter what happens, the things Baltar must do as the chosen one also get him laid--and even more interestingly, "Head-Six" is eventually shown to be an actual angel of God (although she doesn't especially care to be called an angel, and God isn't particularly enamored of that title, either), ''and'' it turns out that this whole time the physical Six model Baltar had had an affair with on Caprica has a "Head-Baltar" who is also an angel. We're not entirely sure what this reminds us of, but it seems like something.
** In the second instance, President Laura Roslin comes to believe that she is the dying leader who will lead the people to Earth, based on her interpretation of ancient religious texts. Her role is questioned when she is cured of her supposedly terminal cancer, and reassessed when she suffers a relapse.
** The third possibility is Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace, who is told early on by the Cylon Leoben that she is important and has a destiny. Unlike the other two, she actively denies it and works against it, before embracing it shortly before her 'death' in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Upon her return, she comes to passionately believe she is now the one destined to lead the human race to Earth, unaware of a Cylon prophecy that she will actually lead the human race to the apocalypse.
** The fourth example (is that a record?) is the Cylon Number Three (D'Anna Biers), who becomes obsessed with seeing the faces of the Final Five and what lies between life and death. She declares herself to be a chosen one who will lead the Cylons into a new age, but instead her hubris kills her and leads to her entire line being boxed. It turns out her experiences were actually more important to furthering Baltar and arguably Starbuck's positions as 'chosen ones' (by putting Baltar in a position where he found his way back to the fleet, and by enabling Starbuck to find Earth).
** Really, when it comes right down to it, ''Battlestar Galactica: Reimagined'' doesn't really have a Chosen One - it has a Chosen FiveManBand, each with a specific purpose in [[spoiler:"God's"]] plan.
*** By comparison, the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' series is a bit more reserved. The Beings of Light, a mysterious race that go around the universe [[WeHelpTheHelpless helping civilizations in distress]] developed an interest in Apollo. They think that the good captain has already done a fine job saving many innocent lives and will continue to do so in the future.
* Captain Dylan Hunt on ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' started out as a normal human (albeit genetically upgraded, which is standard for 90% of human characters in that series), but as seasons wore on he was [[RetCon retconned]] to be a half-human/half-SufficientlyAdvancedAlien of the Master Race, then became the ''Paradine'', spoken of in ancient prophecy, with his own prescient alien seeress by his side. (Trance Gemini, who started out as an (seemingly) innocent [[PerkyFemaleMinion perky alien girl]] with hints of unusual powers, but in later seasons was transformed into a GodModeSue.) [[Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys Hercules]] in Space, indeed.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Sam Winchester is essentially the chosen one of the series. He was chosen to be the vessel for [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. Everything that has happened, including the death of his mother, to Azazel/YED bleeding in his mouth, to the development of Sam's special abilities has led up to the fact that Sam was the one that would eventually destroy the world.
** [[spoiler: Dean Winchester]] as of season 4. Unfortunately, the guy's gone through so much BreakTheCutie trauma by this point, that it's doubtful if he can actually fulfill this role. In season 5 it's revealed that he's the intended vessel of the Archangel Michael, which he [[ScrewDestiny doesn't agree to]].
* Referred to as the "Golden One" in ''Series/KrodMandoonAndTheFlamingSwordOfFire'' because it's [[GenreSavvy "slightly less cliche"]] than the Chosen One.
* The eponymous hero in ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker''.
** He's also ''a'' Seeker. There were others before him, whenever situation was grave enough to warrant one. Each one is implied to have had his own Confessor and a wizard (at least the one before did). Unfortunately, the one before ended up sleeping with his Confessor and going mad after the wizard convinced her to commit suicide. The wizard ended up killing the Seeker with the Sword of Truth and putting an enchantment on his body to keep his spirit out of the underworld. He then hid the truth (claiming that both the Seeker and the Confessor died in the final battle against the enemy) in order to keep the people's faith in the Seeker.
** In the series of books the series is (very) loosely based on, Literature/SwordOfTruth, it is suggested with hints spread out over the different books that the titular sword was actually made for the main character and the whole line of seekers was a tool just to get the function and authority to him.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' deconstructs this with [[TheWoobie River Tam]]. Her exceptional intellect and implied latent [[PsychicPowers psychic ability]] got her "chosen" - to go straight to [[SchoolForScheming the Academy]]. She came out the other end a [[MindRape traumatized]] [[AxeCrazy mental wreck]] who [[ThereAreNoTherapists can't be treated]] and suffers from both schizophrenia and [[PowerIncontinence uncontrolled mind powers.]]
** She does get better in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', though at considerable cost, and plays the trope straighter by leading the gang to a secret of galactic importance... and then saving most of their lives.
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' parodies this in the first sketch of season 3, which features a father telling his son that he's the Chosen One just to get him out of the house.
* ''Series/TheCollector'': [[spoiler: Morgan was God's chosen instrument to discover the cure for Plague, centuries ahead of reality. The Devil successfully distracted him from this role]].
** One episode involves a great spirit periodically guided to an Amerindian tribe, the latest being their needed savior, [[spoiler: whom the Devil also tries to distract from her role.]]
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Emma Swan, the daughter of Literature/SnowWhite and PrinceCharming is prophesied to one day save all of the fairy tale characters trapped by the Evil Queen's curse which has them living out mundane lives in our world with no memory of who they really are, and no chance to reclaim their happy endings on their own. Played with in that the only one in-universe who actually believes this is Henry, Emma's son (at least, on the surface).
** Oddly enough for the idea, is that Emma fulfills her destiny at the end of season 1, but still has a ton of work to do protecting the town now. Justified by Season 6, which reveals that breaking the curse was just part of Emma's destiny. She's also fated to [[FinalBattle face down]] with the curse's original creator, the [[GreaterScopeVillain Black]] [[UltimateEvil Fairy]].
** Also in season six, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Rumple was supposed to be the Savior. [[DeconstructedTrope However,his mother intervened when she read up on the whole prophecy because she didn't want him to die. In the end, she stole his destiny from him, and ironically turned herself into the villain that he was supposed to fight. Even more ironically, Rumple himself turned into one of the show's biggest villains.]]]]
** In the third season it's implied that Henry is also a chosen one, although given his pedigree it shouldn't come as a surprise. [[spoiler: Fulfilled at the end of Season 4, when he becomes the new Author.]]
** A central plot point in Season 7 is the search for the Guardian, a person with a [[IncorruptiblePurePureness totally pure heart]], who can take the powers of the Dark One without being consumed by them, thus putting an end to its evil permanently.
* The title character of ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', who was chosen, we haven't a clue by who exactly, to help Arthur become the king he is destined to be and help him unify Albion.
** Actually, it's Arthur who's the Chosen One. He's just such a Chosen One that fate gave him his own Chosen One to keep him alive and sane throughout being a Chosen One. His wife Guinevere is a Chosen One too, with a destiny so sure that the most powerful healing artifact in the Five Kingdoms could not stop a dream of her becoming queen, because fate had decreed it. In other words, he's such a powerful Chosen One that all the people in his life become {{Chosen One}}s just by being around him.
* Duncan [=MacLeod=] in the ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' TV series. First there's Cassandra's prophecy (not the mythological Cassandra) about a "Highland child born on the winter solstice, who has seen both darkness and light and who will defeat the voice of death" and then there's the whole Ahriman/immortal champion thing. A few fans think that might be what the prophecy meant, rather than referring to Kantos, but it was all still really bad anyway.
* [[spoiler: Vlad Dracula]] from ''Series/YoungDracula'' is the Chosen One, prophesized to bring the vampires out of hiding.
* In ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}'', [[spoiler: Eve, the newborn daughter of George and Nina, is the Chosen One, who is going to save the world from the vampires.]]
** Subverted: [[spoiler: the prophecy is incomplete. Eve is actually responsible for the vampires' survival! It's implied that relying on Eve to save them undermined the humans' resistance and won the battle for the vampires.]]
** It is also said that TheChosenOne has a 'nemesis', marked by a [[spoiler: burn on their arm]]. It's implied to be [[spoiler: Hal]] but turns out to be [[spoiler: Eve herself]].
* Daniel Jackson of ''Series/StargateSG1'' appears to have been considered this by the ascended Ancient Oma. But the others kicked him out of the 'Ascended Fan Club' for being too much of an AllLovingHero and wanting to actually help people when they needed it instead of ignoring them. This aspect seems to have diminished somewhat around Season 7.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Captain Sisko is the Emissary to the Prophets, the Wormhole entities that the Bajorans worship as gods. It takes a little while for the science-loving Sisko to embrace his role as the messiah of another race, but he manages. Sisko later learns that he is actually a Prophet's ''son'': his bio-mom was ''possessed'' by one of the Prophets for months if not years, [[TimeyWimeyBall in order to make sure Benjamin would be born and able to fulfill his destiny]] (when the energy being left her, Sara was not happy to have had her life taken over and ran off, leaving Ben to be raised by his father). Over the course of the series Sisko, in his dual roles as Starfleet officer and Bajoran Emissary, saves Bajor from military and spiritual threats.
* Despite him never being called this, [[spoiler: Hiro]] of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' kind of becomes this when his destiny is to [[spoiler: SaveTheWorld and "kill" Sylar.]]
* Troy Barnes in ''Series/{{Community}}'', whose destiny is to be... the greatest air conditioner repairman ever. Yes, it is apparently SeriousBusiness, for the Truest Repairman will repair Man.
* Nina Martin in ''Series/HouseOfAnubis''. Sarah Frobisher-Smythe, too, as she was the chosen one before Nina was born. Both are descendants of Amneris who were born at a special hour on a special day; July 7th at 7:00 AM, or January 1st at 1:00 AM, respectively. In this series, all it really means is being able to build the Cup, wear the Mask of Anubis, and [[DeadPersonConversation communicate with ghosts.]] The first two abilities are what caused the drama in the first two seasons.
** Joy was ''believed'' to be chosen due to her birthday, but was born at the wrong hour- 7:00 ''PM'', rather than 7:00 ''AM''.
** Eddie Miller too. He is not a chosen one, but is still important as the chosen one's destined protector- the Osirian. He gets his own powers in season 3, specifically visions of the future. [[spoiler: Rufus Zeno is one as well, despite being a villain. [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Actually, this power is what caused it.]]]]
* In ''Series/{{Atlantis}}'', Jason is the Chosen One. We know this because the Oracle makes sure to cryptically mention it OnceAnEpisode. She is somewhat more [[VaguenessIsComing vague]] what he is chosen for.
* ''Series/{{Dominion}}'' is the TV sequel to ''Legion'' (mentioned in the Film section above), and as such is all about Alex, the baby born at that movie's climax, coming into his destiny as humanity's savior. [[RefusalOfTheCall Whether he wants it or not.]]
* In the second ''Series/FirstWave'' episode, Cade finds out that he is predicted by Nostradamus to be the "twice-blessed man" who will [[EitherOrProphecy either die with everyone else or save Earth]] from an AlienInvasion. Cade immediately calls himself "twice-cursed".
-->"On the seventh dawn of the seventh day,\\
A twice-blessed man will roam the fields.\\
Doomed to shadows with his brethren,\\
Or savior to all who walk the ground."
* ''Series/SleepyHollow'': Ichabod realizes pretty quickly that he and Abbie are the two Witnesses of the Apocalypse foretold in the Book of Revelation, and as such are the only ones who can stop [[BigBad Moloch]] from bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* Wonderfully skewered on ''Series/ZNation'' as Murphy is clearly the Chosen One who is the only man to survive a zombie bite and could be the man to save humanity from the plague of the undead. He also happens to be an ex-con, arrogant, self-serving and a total jackass who could care less about the rest of humanity. He just wants a decent meal, often causes even more disasters, and does not seem to care about the people who are dying to keep him alive.
* ''Series/{{Mortified}}'': After listening to a lecture on Buddhism, Taylor becomes convinced that she is the chosen one. However, this turns out to be just another manifestation of her IJustWantToBeSpecial tendencies.
* In ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'', the Sancturary Tree chooses Deet to warn the surface Gelflings of the Darkening that ravages the Caves of Grot. Later, he gives her his ability to see visions and channel energy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/ConvictionSRPG'': Leed is the chosen one of the Light Elf while Emperor Abyss III is the chosen of the Dark Elf. Additionally, Jing, Snow and Lilith are the Three Magi who are destined to help Leed seal the Dark Elf.
* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' - every major game in the series revolves around the 108 Stars of Destiny, 108 usually recruitable characters that all play a vital role in the fate of reality.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' revolves around a Chosen One named Fei [[spoiler: who is a reincarnation of the original Chosen One, Abel. His choosing is eventually revealed to be sheer accident, as his contact with the Wave Existence occurred because Abel got lost while trying to escape the doomed ''Eldridge''. His contact allows him to survive and entrusts him with the task of freeing the Wave Existence from the Zohar, and he is destined to die and be reborn forever until he accomplishes his task. Ironically, if Abel had not gotten lost, someone (or perhaps no one) else would have become Chosen One.]]
** The game has another Chosen One, Elhaym. The Wave Existence created the original Elhaym out of Abel's longing for his mother (he was lost, remember?) and she likewise reincarnates across several lifetimes.
* Later ''Xeno-'' title ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' has those chosen to wield the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Monado]]. Non-chosen are uncontrollably thrown all over the place if they touch it. There are only two exceptions: Dunban, who used it in the Battle of Sword Valley at the cost of the use of his right arm (although he later alleges that the sword was controlling him), and Shulk, who wields it without any apparent repercussion and gains the ability to see the future through its use. (A third, [[spoiler:Alvis]], shows up early into Makna Forest, although why they can use the Monado isn't explained until very late-game: [[spoiler:namely, he '''is''' the Monado]].) Shulk in particular gains the nickname "True Heir to the Monado" for his ability to wield it. [[spoiler:The trope is played particularly straight in his case: the reason he can use the Bionis' Monado is because the omnicidal god Zanza ''arbitrarily chose to inhabit him'' to further his ends. However, with a bit of prodding by Alvis, Shulk goes on to make his ''own'' Monado to combat Zanza with.]]
** Another case is party member Riki, the legendary Heropon. This one's PlayedForLaughs, as it quickly comes out that the main thing qualifying Riki for "Heropon" status (which itself in an annual appointment) is ''massive, crushing debt'', which gets forgiven by taking up the mantle. The Nopon Elder and TheChooserOfTheOne heavily implies he's fobbing Riki off on the party because their quest is marginally less suicidal than the normal Heropon duties of hunting (and being eaten by) monsters in their forest and it would be nice for Riki's family if he came back alive.
* A number of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' games have a Chosen One, though the method of choosing differs. In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'', the hero is chosen by virtue of being the descendant of a great hero. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' is similar, but the choices are slightly on the larger scale given the larger family tree. In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', the same thing happens, but [[spoiler: the story is a prequel, where the hero goes on to initiate the heroic linage of the family of the first two games.]] ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'' has a chosen one philosophy, but the game rather treats all the cast as TheChosenMany. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'', the protagonist is actually ''not'' the Chosen One, [[spoiler: but his inevitable son is]]. In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', you're "chosen" by virtue of being the reincarnation of a prior great hero -- but ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne because [[SuperheroParadox you're blamed as the reason the vicious monsters are appearing]].
* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' often uses this trope; however given that it's the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', you can bet that it's often played with or flat-out [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne deconstructed]].
** Colette Brunel from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', although she's not the main character and has been fully aware of her status as the chosen one her whole life, it being due to her genetics. This is also a deconstruction. It is revealed that there are entire families containing the chosen bloodline spread across the world, any member of whom can be proclaimed the chosen one by the PowersThatBe whenever required. [[spoiler: And then of course it turns out what the Chosen is chosen ''for'' -- to be [[GrandTheftMe the vessel for the resurrection of the "goddess" Martel]] -- and by "goddess" we mean "BigBad's dead sister". Knowing for most of her life that she exists to be a human sacrifice also gives her next to no sense of self-worth or preservation, making her selfless to a fault and unwilling to burden others with her problems even when those problems are ''literally, physically killing her''. In fact, one of her Angel powers allows her to heal the entire party and inflict damage on the enemy party at the cost of dropping her to 0 HP.]] Zelos Wilder is another chosen (the chosen of a different world, to be precise), but he doesn't really want to do it, since [[spoiler:the job was actually his sick sister's and he's not at all suited]]. At one point [[spoiler:he appears to have made a deal with the villains (though whether he's ''really'' doing this depends on EventFlags) to betray the party in exchange for getting out of his duties. [[DeathSeeker Or to just die at the party's hands. That's fine, too.]]]]
** Speaking of the ''Tales'' series, Luke in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' is [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight prophesied]] to be the Chosen One who will lead his world to new heights of prosperity. [[spoiler:Which is then subverted. Then played straight again]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', it's implied that Reid and Ras were Chosen ones; but not entirely any specific one as more "Only these people can use the power of Seyfert's Fibril". Meredy can too, thanks to [[spoiler:Shizel, user of ''Nereid'''s fibril being her mother and all]].
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Estelle is one of the last remaining Children of the Full Moon: beings who possessed a great and immeasurable power over the world's aer. What did the original Children of the Full Moon do to save the world? [[spoiler:''Commit suicide to avoid accidentally screwing the world over with said power''.]]
* In ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'', Maxim is told by Iris that he has the power to fight whatever vague evil has risen. It's more explicit in the remake, ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', where Maxim is referred to as the "Legendary Hero" and even gets a Title reflecting being the only person capable of wielding the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Dual Blade]].
** Eldin in ''VideoGame/LufiaTheRuinsOfLore'' accidentally ends up becoming The Chosen One after a curse Rubius meant to receive herself struck Eldin instead, [[spoiler:due to Eldin having Eristolian blood]].
* The 2004 ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'' parodies this rather savagely. You are told early on that your character is the chosen one on an important quest, but as you progress through the game, you encounter a number of self-proclaimed Chosen Ones who make big speeches about their destiny, only to get killed horribly by monsters or booby traps. You eventually stumble across a whole prison full of "Chosen Ones" of various ages.
** The best part being the creepy goblins that show up and sing a song about the latest Chosen One to get its ass kicked. Little bastards.
--->''"It's bad to be you,\
A chosen one of many isn't new..."''
** TheReveal that [[spoiler:Caleigh the princess is actually the demonic BigBad of the game]] actually makes the situation pretty tragic. [[spoiler:A demon has been tricking countless poor saps into getting themselves killed, trying to find someone skilled enough and gullible enough to free her.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', the characters that enter the game's final tower are classified as "Chosen Ones". The player gets to choose most of them though, rather than fate directly.
* In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', the "What Makes The Sky Blue" event reveals that the protagonists (Gran/Djeeta) are the "singularity" upon which the fate of the world revolves around, whether it lead to salvation or ruin. The Primarchs subsequently choose to bestow their tetra-elemental power upon them, causing Shiva, Alexiel, Grimnir, and Europa to take an interest in them.
* Notable [[AvertedTrope aversion]] in ''VideoGame/Grandia1'': [[spoiler:The protagonist Justin is an ordinary boy who just wants to be an adventurer. He isn't chosen by the "Spirits" after an ancient prophecy, but is begrudgingly ''accepted'' by them after proving how awesome he is.]]
* Link from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''; in some of the games he's specifically referred to as "the Chosen Hero."
--> [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames "It is written: Only Link can defeat Ganon."]]
** Played with in some games, where Link actually has to ''earn'' the title of Chosen Hero. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has him recover the pieces of the Triforce of Courage and show that he's courageous enough to actually receive it, and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has him directly perform various deeds for the God in order to gain access to an intact Triforce. These are both justified in that Wind Waker's Link averts the trope by explicitly being TheUnchosenOne, since the soul of the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime previous Link]] never reincarnated [[AlternateTimeline in that timeline]], while Skyward Sword's Link is -- if not the first Link -- [[PrecursorHeroes the first one to wield the Triforce]].
** Proving his destined right to find and wield the Triforce of Courage is the entire point of ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', the second game in the series and when the existence of the Triforce of Courage is first mentioned[[note]]the original game had only Wisdom and Power[[/note]] But this can be chalked up to ContinuitySnarl retroactively making it the final game in its branch of the series, chronologically.
** Zelda also destined to have the Triforce of Wisdom, though [[spoiler:''Skyward Sword's'' Zelda was the Goddess Hylia's mortal reincarnation, so she isn't the Chosen One as much as GodInHumanForm.]] Ganondorf, however, unconsciously chose the Triforce of Power. At the end of the day, all three in their various incarnations and descendants are ultimately destined to forever be in conflict thanks to [[spoiler:Demise's curse]].
** The explanation of the split Triforce mechanics in ''Ocarina of Time'' implies the existence of a third chosen one who is supposed to get the Triforce of Power in the event that someone with an unbalanced heart is granted Wisdom or Courage. However, since such an event has not yet happened and [[TheUnchosenOne Ganon]] keeps getting the Triforce of Power, the identity of this individual remains unknown.
** Link's status as the chosen wielder of the Master Sword in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' is a point of contention for Zelda herself and Revali, Champion of the Rito. Both initially resent Link for this for similar reasons, namely, [[HardWorkHardlyWorks that they have worked and trained so hard for their respective roles]], and they view Link as having received his power on a plate. Revali is powerful in his own right, but his ego can't take the fact that he has to take a support role to this new swordsman that he never heard of before, while Zelda doesn't even have anything to show for all of her efforts [[spoiler:until she finally unlocks her divine power while saving Link's life during Calamity Ganon's resurrection]].
* The Keyblades in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' tend to choose keybearers for themselves when needed. This part goes to Sora and later also to [[spoiler: Mickey Mouse, Riku, and Kairi.]] Once chosen, a keybearer has to deal with a great amount of Heartless and Nobodies, who want to kill him/her because keyblades are the only true threat to them and also simply BecauseDestinySaysSo. Additionally, Sora was also chosen to open "the door to light" with his keyblade for reasons as yet unknown.
** Interestingly, [[spoiler:Sora was ''never'' meant to wield a Keyblade. The one initially chosen is actually ''Riku'', but since Riku [[JumpedAtTheCall jumps too quickly at the call]], Sora finds it instead. Terra chose Riku, but ''destiny'' chose Sora. They're both Chosen, but Destiny's Choice takes precedence.]] Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Aqua ''planned'' on choosing Sora, but decided against it after realizing that Terra had chosen Riku...unaware that she had already chosen Kairi ''by accident''.]]
** Although ultimately subverted [[spoiler: It's revealed in Birth By Sleep that at one time in the past hundreds to thousands of people wielded keyblades, and that a massive war erupted between them. The keyblade wielders of the present are few just because there were few left over after the keyblade war to pass on the ability.]]
* In the online Flash RPG, ''VideoGame/AdventureQuest'', [[spoiler: You are the Avatar of Hope, though it has been implied that the entire human race of Lore is the Avatar of Hope, in one of the stories posted by the admin Falerin on the forum.]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The series' in general has the in-universe, metaphysical concept of "heroes". These are rare individuals not bound in any way by fate and who have the ability to rule their own destiny. Heroes are closely related to the prophecies revealed in the [[TomeOfEldritchLore Elder Scrolls]], but are not bound by them, and they often grow to become far more powerful than most other mortals (sometimes to the point of becoming {{Physical God}}s or outright [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deities Of Human Origin]]). Each PlayerCharacter in the series to date has been such a hero, and many others are mentioned in the series' lore (often as {{Long Dead Badass}}es and [[FounderOfTheKingdom Founders Of Their Kingdoms]]).
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'':
*** The [[PlayerCharacter Nerevarine]] plays with the trope heavily straight (at face value, at least). According to prophecy, the Nerevarine is the {{reincarnation}} of the [[LongDeadBadass ancient Dunmer hero]], Lord Indoril Nerevar. Throughout the main quest, you uncover the lost details of the prophecy and fulfill them yourself until you are recognized by the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] Azura, Nerevar's patron. You are granted the Moon-And-Star ring, specially blessed by Azura to [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield kill anyone who tries to wear it except for Nerevar]], which you are able to wear. You complete the trials of the prophecy, defeat BigBad PhysicalGod Dagoth Ur, and sever his (and the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Tribunal]]'s) divine connection to the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]]. However, [[SubvertedTrope there is strong evidence that the player is ''not'' Lord Nerevar reborn]], but merely a convenient pawn Azura is using in her revenge plot against the Tribunal (Nerevar's councilors who went against her wishes thousands of years ago, used the Heart, and stole her worshipers along with [[TheRashomon possibly murdering Nerevar]] himself.) It is revealed that [[MultipleChoiceChosen there have been others]] who fit the prophecy, but [[ThePoorlyChosenOne were killed before they could fulfill it entirely]], and that Azura is more TheChooserOfTheOne rather than there being one true Chosen One. ''Morrowind'' is probably one of the only stories to combine this trope with TheUnchosenOne -- at the end of the main quest you get asked if you are Nerevar reborn. It is entirely possible to answer that no, you aren't, but you're doing this because it's the right thing to do (it is given more weight if you ''didn't'' fulfill the entire prophetic list of things you are supposed to do before confronting Dagoth Ur yet still is in a position to confront him by your possession of Kagrenac's Tools attuned to you). Finally, there is also the perspective that having the spirit of Nerevar will ''become'' more literal as you follow in his footsteps (''Elder Scrolls'' metaphysics allow for avatarizing yourself by '[[BecomingTheMask walking like he does until he walks like you do]]', an action known as "Mantling".)
*** They take their Chosen Ones seriously on Vvardenfell, really. One of the [[CorruptChurch Tribunal Temple]]'s standing orders is to execute anyone calling themselves Nerevarine - not because they want to stop the prophesy but rather because if the Nerevarine is going to fulfill every point on his prophetic agenda (yes, there's an actual ''list'') he can't let a little thing like a full inquisitorial execution stop him. Ergo, try to execute every pretender - if they succeed, they know it was an imposter.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'':
*** Once again played with by the PlayerCharacter in the main quest. Here, Martin is the Chosen One - the only person left of Septim blood who can [[BarrierMaiden perform the ritual necessary]] to seal Mundus (the mortal plane) against the threat of Oblivion. The Champion of Cyrodiil is instead Martin's [[TheLancer Lancer]][=/=]HyperCompetentSidekick. However, there is also the implication that you were still chosen by the gods for your role in the story, delivering the [[MacGuffin Amulet of Kings]], rescuing Martin, and doing most of the heavy lifting against the Mythic Dawn and BigBad.
*** Played straight in both major expansions, ''Knights of the Nine'' and ''The Shivering Isles'', where you very much are the Chosen One of each storyline. Also played straight in the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] [[SidequestSidestory faction questline]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** Again, played with by the PlayerCharacter. Played straight as the Dragonborn is a rare mortal blessed by Akatosh with the immortal soul of a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]], allowing for inherent knowledge of the [[LanguageOfMagic Thu'um]] and being the LastOfHisKind in that respect. Even further, they are also the Dragonborn prophesied to defeat [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Alduin]]. However, being a Dragonborn ''also means'' being one of the setting's metaphysical "heroes" who are not bound in any way by fate. As the [[OldMaster Greybeards]] state, any action you take, whether good or evil, given your nature, is an action essentially blessed by the gods.
*** Played straight in most of the [[SidequestSidestory faction questlines]]. Before even coming to Skyrim, you appear in a dream to the Harbinger of the Companions as the one who will [[spoiler:break the self-inflicted [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Lycanthropy]] curse on the group]]. In the [[MagicalSociety College of Winterhold]] society, you are again chosen, [[spoiler:this time by the [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Psijic Order]]]]. Once again, you also play it straight in the Dark Brotherhood questline, [[spoiler:being chosen once again by the Night Mother, just as in ''Oblivion'']].
** In the series' backstory, Reman Cyrodiil, [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder]] of the Second Tamriellic Empire, was a chosen one. Said to be conceived in a union between the petty King Hrol, the spirit of St. Alessia (founder of the First Tamriellic Empire), Akatosh (the [[DragonsAreDivine draconic]] TopGod of the Imperial [[OurGodsAreDifferent Eight Divines]] pantheon), and the land of Cyrodiil itself, Reman was, according to legend, found born atop a mountain of mud with the [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield Amulet of Kings]], long since lost, already in hand. [[AChildShallLeadThem Coronated as a child]], Reman quickly brought the two halves of Cyrodiil (Colovia and Nibenay) back together, along with the other kingdoms of Men (High Rock and Skyrim). His line would go on to rule nearly all of Tamriel.
** Also from the backstory, near the end of the 2nd Era, the Greybeards summoned the chosen one who would who would [[TheConqueror restore the Empire]] and [[ScrewYouElves conquer the elves]] to High Hrothgar, their monastery on [[TheTower the Throat of the World]]. Wulfharth Ash-King, the legendary ancient King of the Nords, famous [[GodInHumanForm Shezarrine]] who [[EternalHero had died and come back to life]] at least three times, and noted [[FantasticRacism Elf-hater]], JumpedAtTheCall and went to the Greybeards. Instead, Wulfharth is "[[RefusedByTheCall blasted to ash]]" by the Greybeards who declare Hjalti of High Rock (a young [[GodEmperor Tiber Septim]]) to be the one instead.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'': Samus is sometimes portrayed simply as a singularly hyper-competent one-woman space police force, but in the NTSC version of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', the Chozo Lore entries imply that the Tallon IV Chozo prophesied and expected Samus to come save their dying planet after the Phazon meteorite strike.
* ''VideoGame/{{Valis}}'': Yuko Ahso is generically thrust into the spotlight as the warrior who can wield the sword of Valis and defeat evil. (Okay, not quite generically--she's thrust into the spotlight with a big dose of {{Fanservice}} and {{Stripperific}}ness. She plays the role of The Valis Warrior in the first three games, then becomes the Dream World's goddess, and in the fourth game, Lena takes over Yuko's prior role as the wielder of the eponymous legendary sword.
* ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' has various messages (combined with your actions) that heavily suggest that you are an AllLovingHero who will save the Nali from the tyranny of the Skaarj. This may be a subversion however, as the tournament games ([[WordOfGod said to be set after the first game]]) suggest that the Nali are still being hunted, although the reference is non-specific enough that you could easily assume your character at least made their situation far better.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', wherein the player character is identified as the Chosen One at the very beginning. Apparently being descended from the hero of the [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}} first game]] includes inheriting some pretty big expectations.
** The player can also declare himself to be the Chosen One to many characters throughout the game world. Most of them will then treat your character as delusional, insane, or just as a plain backwards tribal following the statement.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', where it appears that the player character is the reincarnation of the Living One, a mystical figure, but later in the game [[spoiler: You discover that you are just a common person, that the prophecy of the reincarnation is false, and that the Living One is in fact still alive.]]
** The prophecy is still subverted in other ways, such as [[spoiler: the 'great evil' of ages past -- that is, the 'evil' version of the Chosen One you've been sent to smite -- being the almost completely helpless prisoner of the ''real'' BigBad. And he's actually a pretty decent guy who, in his centuries of confinement, has had a chance to mull over his past actions and decide he was in the wrong.]]
* ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'' has you being one of the chosen three, the Marked One, one will then be selected by the Council of Seven to serve as Divine One. [[spoiler:You become Divine One after the enemies kill other two Marked Ones]].
* The ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series plays around with this, not getting around to deciding just who's the Chosen One, or what they're chosen ''for'', until the end of the series. [[spoiler:In ''Defiance'', both Raziel and Kain believe they're the Champion of the vampires. Eventually, it's revealed that Raziel could be the Champion of either the Vampires or the Hylden, and as the only one with free will, he can choose. In the end, Raziel plays out both Champions' parts by giving the Hylden Overlord a sufficiently strong host body in the form of Janos Audron, and giving Kain, the Scion of Balance, everything he needs to fulfill his own destiny by erasing Nupraptor's corruption from his spirit and fusing himself with the Soul Reaver.]]
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana''
** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' plays with this trope. Near the start of the game, the main character pulls [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield a sword out of a stone]]. He is later told that only a great hero should be able to remove the sword, but since he is too young to be a hero, it must have happened because the power of Mana is weakening. He is asked to take care of the sword until he can find a real hero to give it to. Later on it turns out that he was the Chosen One all along. [[spoiler: He's even the son of a hero!]]
** ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' features six characters to choose from, and you can choose any one of them to be the main character. Destiny doesn't choose the Chosen One until shortly into the game when your first character finds a weakened fairy looking for somebody to save the Mana Tree. [[spoiler: While you inevitably fail to save the Mana Tree, your fairy friend becomes the new Mana Goddess who will eventually be able to restore it.]]
* ''VideoGame/InFamous'': Played straight. [[spoiler: If you collect enough dead drops you eventually come across one of a phone call made by Kessler to the courier service Cole worked for. He asks for Cole by name to deliver a package, which is how Cole gets the Ray Sphere in the first place when he is instructed to open it. Might be an aversion given that technically he chose himself given that Kessler is Cole from the future.]]
* The PlayerCharacter in the ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' series gets some of this in ''Throne of Bhaal''. It turns out the outcome of the prophecy of the Bhaalspawn hinges upon them; the great destruction foretold will only happen if they fail.
--> '''Prophetic stone head''':\\
''"The wheels of prophecy e'er turn,\\
Gorion's ward hath come.\\
Crossroad of past, present and future,\\
The one foreseen, the one foretold."''
* Creator/BioWare has actually been moving away from this lately, the player characters in both ''Franchise/MassEffect'' and ''Franchise/DragonAge'' are not so much the Chosen One prophesied to save the world as the ''only'' one who can save the world through a combination of circumstance and badassitude.
** For ''Franchise/MassEffect'', one character proposes in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' that Shepard is the Avatar of his/her [[ViciousCycle Cycle]], someone who plays a centrally important role in the fate of the galaxy. Shepard even has the opportunity to recruit [[spoiler: the Avatar of the ''previous'' cycle, [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Javik]].]] With the Extended Cut, it is possible for the game to play out such that [[spoiler: Shepard fails to stop the Reapers, but Liara succeeds in warning the ''next'' cycle, allowing them to stop the Reapers 50,000 years later. Shepard becomes ShroudedInMyth for his/her part in this.]]
** They have actually subverted it completely in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''; everyone assumes that Hawke, the PlayerCharacter, deliberately caused the momentous events that occurred in the game, while really s/he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, had absolutely nothing to do with ''everything'' that was going on, and was forced to use badassitude to ride the wave. In fact, it can be argued that in the end, Hawke really changed nothing.
* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad'' subverts this tropes: Arc was not chosen by the PowersThatBe: he was chosen by his father who then went to bargain with the power that be.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', it's stated that Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are the Heroes of Light chosen by the Light Prognosticus. [[spoiler:Luigi is the Chosen One for the Dark Prognosticus, being the ApocalypseMaiden.]]
** ''VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS'' has the Star Children: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, DK, Bowser and a newborn Yoshi (Implied to be the Yoshi from when Mario is an adult).
* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' had the Chosen ''Four''. With [[TheHero Ness]] as a more specific Chosen One.
* ''VideoGame/Mother3'' has Lucas and [[spoiler: Claus/The Masked Man]], who are the only two people in the world that can use PK Love [[spoiler: and pull the 7 needles that will awaken the Dark Dragon and change the world, as prophesied. The Magypsies make note to point out how unique they are as well.]]
* The four protagonists (later retconed to a single protagonist) from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' arrival had been prophesied long before the start of the story. It had been predicted that the [[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Warrior of Light]] would save the world from a group of monsters known as the [[FourIsDeath Four Fiends]], [[spoiler: and a never ending time-loop]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' was a deconstruction. Yuna may be the only one who ultimately ''will'' save the world, but she's not the only one who is ''able'' to, and gets stiff competition -- and criticism -- from other summoners throughout her quest. And even if she succeeds, [[spoiler:she's only saving the world in the short term. If she does the thing she was chosen for, Sin will just come back to life anyway]]. Needless to say, the world gets saved regardless; Yuna's role in saving it just turns out to be a lot less singular.
** From the same game, Tidus. [[spoiler:He was brought to Spira by Jecht who, upon becoming Sin, [[ChooserOfTheChosenOne decided]] that Tidus should be the one to defeat him]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, descendant of Dynast-King Raithwall, is [[spoiler:chosen by the Occurria to set mankind's history on the "right" path. However, their idea of "right" involves mass genocide of the entire Archadian Empire, and even Ashe's hatred of said Empire falters at the prospect. Strangely, their usage of illusions indicate that Vaan was their Plan B for a time, but they gave up on him when he outgrew his hang-ups. It was this very growth that helped inspire Ashe to reject her "chosen destroyer" role outright.]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has the l'Cie. They are chosen to complete a mission assigned by a [[PhysicalGod fal'Cie]], a mission which's nature is completely unknown to the l'Cie in question. They are distinguished by a [[PowerTattoo mark on any part of their body]], such as [[http://i50.tinypic.com/2i2kus.jpg this one.]] If a l'Cie fails to carry out its quest, s/he get turned into a Cie'th, BodyHorror incarnate, as punishment; and if the l'Cie succeed his/her quest s/he will [[TakenForGranite turn into crystal]] until the [[JerkassGods fal'Cie]] decideds to give the l'Cie a new mission to carry out... It kind of sucks to be a Chosen One in Final Fantasy XIII's universe.
* Subverted with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'''s Sephiroth. He ''thinks'' he's one during his [[GoMadFromTheRevelation freakout moment]] but, as it turns out, this is all just delusions of grandeur on his part. He eventually decides to become a villainous example of TheUnchosenOne by fulfilling Jenova's role of destroying everything on the planet.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' is a very interesting version of this trope. At the start of 1.0 and ''A Realm Reborn'', Mothercrystal Hydaelyn chooses the player character to be her champion, bestowing them the mysterious power of the Echo. No one ever bothers questioning it until it's all flipped on its head during the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion, when it's revealed that [[spoiler:you are actually the reincarnation of a shard of an Ascian, the {{Big Bad}}s of the game and that Hydaelyn didn't need to choose you as the method she chose you with could be used to choose any other reincarnated Ascian shard!]]
** [[spoiler:That said, it's heavily hinted that the Warrior of Light is the reincarnation of a ''specific'' Ascian - namely an individual known only as The Fourteenth, who had walked away from the ruling council of Amaurot in opposition to the creation of Zodiark and is implied to be the person who led the efforts to birth Hydaelyn - which is why they were chosen to be Her main agent.]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'':
** The main story has Noctis and his [[ChooserOfTheChosenOne ancestors]] whom decided he would be the Chosen King of Light, destined to banish the darkness [[spoiler: [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost of his own life]] and after the previous king, the BigBad, failed.]]
** ''Episode Ardyn'' reveals [[spoiler:the aforementioned BigBad and titular character Ardyn Izunia is a horrific inversion. He was actually chosen by the gods to become the world's equivalent to Satan, and is told in no uncertain terms that he can go along with it or be ''made'' to go along with it.]]
* Trilby, and to a similar extent, Theo Decabe, are referenced to being chosen ones in the VideoGame/ChzoMythos. Trilby is "The Guide" and Theo is [[spoiler:chosen to be "The New Prince"]]
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/OgreBattleTheMarchOfTheBlackQueen'' is decreed by Warren the Seer to be the hero who will liberate Zenobia. [[spoiler:If you choose to have the protagonist fight against [[BigBad Rashidi]], he mentions how he foresaw the protagonist's coming and his death at the protagonist's hands.]]
* Hoopz Barkley of ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden: Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley Saga''. Whatever he's chosen for, it has absolutely nothing to do with the game itself.
* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' deconstructs the concept of the Chosen One in that it demonstrates that it's probably a very good idea to figure out ''who'' is doing the choosing and to what end.
* ''VideoGame/SepterraCore''. The appropriately-named Chosen think that being the descendants of Marduk's army make them this collectively, and Doskias in particular thinks that being Marduk's direct descendant (which means he's the great-great-great-great-etc. grandson of God) makes him an AllLovingHero as well.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest'' when [[spoiler:[[BigBad The Dark King]]]] tells you that the prophecy of a hero who would defeat him is false and that he made it up [[ForTheLulz for his own amusement]]. Then [[DoubleSubversion double subverted]] when you kick his ass anyway.
* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series has the modern protagonist, Desmond Miles, acting as a conduit for the GeneticMemory of his Assassin ancestors, as part of a scheme by the modern-day incarnation of UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar to locate ancient artifacts that will let them control men's minds. Well, it turns out that this is itself part of a much older scheme by the [[{{Precursors}} makers of said artifacts]] to [[spoiler:create a nexus in time through which they can communicate with Desmond and tell him how to avert TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]]. Thus, Desmond comes from a family of Chosen Ones.
** WordOfGod states that they made Desmond's ancestors Altair and Ezio come from separate bloodlines because they wanted Desmond to be the culmination of multiple Assassin bloodlines that carry Precursor genetic material. Desmond is ''the'' Chosen One because he carries such a high concentration of Precursor DNA.
** Ultimately, in Desmond's case, it's a subversion. [[spoiler:Juno manipulated history so Desmond is faced with the choice of let the world burn and become a messiah, only to be inspire new Templars after he dies, or save the world while letting Juno run free to take over mankind herself. Desmond takes the latter option because he believes it's better than the former.]]
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': Bayek of Siwa turns out to be the subject on no less than three different prophecies throughout the game and its DLC, though it's a subversion - they're not prophecies as such, just Those Who Came Before predicting when he'd show up, and getting interpreted as prophecies by the people of Ptolemaic Egypt and Libyra.
* The Fateless One in ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' is normally TheUnchosenOne because he/she is ImmuneToFate. However, it is ''because'' of this property (and generally being a Badass) that [[spoiler:the godlike Akara]] in the "Legend of Dead Kel" DLC chooses the Fateless One to carry out his goals. Just because the Fateless One isn't bound by Fate doesn't mean he/she can't still be manipulated in other ways.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'':
** The PlayerCharacter in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' is the Chosen Undead, whose fate is to [[spoiler:succeed Lord Gwyn and link the Fire, [[MultipleEndings or plunge the world into darkness]].]] However, they are not the first Chosen One, just the one who's managed to get the furthest in the [[EverythingTryingToKillYou dangerous land of Lordran]].
** Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII''. Prince Lothric was designated at birth to be the one to Link the Flame, but he grew to resent his role due to everyone knowing that he would be the one to do it and thus never being allowed any sort of choice or say in the matter. This eventually caused him to become disillusioned and misanthropic to the whole affair, to the point where he decides to just [[RefusalOfTheCall let the Age of Dark come]], rather than submit himself and his brother to the Flame again.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/GuildWars''. The White Mantle seeks out people who are deemed to be chosen ones by fate it seems. Given how many, it apparently doesn't take much to be one of the chosen ones it seems. [[spoiler: However, ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne as the White Mantle will try to sacrifice you on a bloodstone. This means that the prophecy can't be fulfilled to destroy the Mursaat.]] It's revealed over the course of "Prophecies" that [[spoiler: the player character(s) are Chosen too, but it's also implied that they aren't ''the'' chosen one, so much as the only ones ''of'' the Chosen who got there.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Weaponlord}}'' is an interesting example, as all the playable characters, [[spoiler:including the BigBad]] are all considered the Chosen One by virtue of being born under a sacred event called the Warrior's Moon.
* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' also is an interesting example. Neku is just another player of the Reapers' Game, among dozens of other [[spoiler: dead]] guys/gals. Later in the game, it's revealed that [[spoiler: Neku IS actually the chosen one... And he was chosen by Shibuya's resident {{Jerkass God|s}} just because he was staring at a graffiti wall.]] However, in the Secret Reports [[spoiler: Hanekoma reveals that Neku has "dense and all-inclusive Soul" and "high Imagination" and was therefore picked by the Composer for his qualities (that are the reason that Neku can use all sorts of pin while his fellow Players cannot). The graffiti wall in the UG attracts people with those qualities, so Josh just knew that Neku was the right person. Which makes Neku a true Chosen One... Or sort of that.]]
** [[spoiler:The other main reason Joshua chose Neku was because Neku was the biggest example of what Joshua hated about Shibuya's people; people who let their potential go to waste by hiding in their own little worlds. So in this case, being the Chosen One was NOT a compliment. However, Neku surprised Joshua by growing into a better person by learning to let his world grow with others' worlds... meaning he actually saved Shibuya by subverting a main reason he was the "Chosen One" and proving the Chooser wrong.]]
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', where unscrupulous ArmsDealer Marcus Kincaid tells an egotistical nerd that he is the Chosen One of a random prophecy that he made up on the spot (and changes when necessary) for the sole purpose of selling him a gun for two million dollars.
* The Jedi Knight player character from ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. Every plotline leading in to the game from other media ends in his/her campaign, and there is an actual prophesy about them in the prequel novel.
* Connor from ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity''.
* Gabriel Belmont from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' is God's chosen champion who is destined to fight against evil. [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne Gabriel suffers so much because of destiny]] that he [[spoiler:becomes [[FallenHero the Dark Lord Dracula]] to spite God]]. Despite this, the sequel shows that [[spoiler:God still considers Gabriel his champion]].
* In ''VideoGame/AWitchsTale'', Liddell was chosen to wield the ancient magic. Loue mentions that the same thing happened with Alice 1,000 years ago. [[spoiler:Liddell is also chosen to ''become'' Alice if the current one dies]].
* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' being the videogame version of ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' above, has this.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Faria}}'', your player character is a warrior from a distant land whom an ancient prophecy identifies as the only one able to save the kingdom of Faria from the EvilSorcerer.
* In ''VideoGame/ThatWhichSleeps'', the Chosen One is a randomly-ish selected character (heroic or [[EvilVersusOblivion not]]) who [[BornLucky gets Fate on their side]] and is destined to face [[EldritchAbomination the Old One]] in the final battle to save the world. [[VillainProtagonist The player is that Old One]], so annihilating or [[FaceHeelTurn corrupting]] [[HeroAntagonist that pesky Chosen One]] is a vital part of the game.
* In ''VideoGame/KultHereticKingdoms'', GodIsDead, but there's one person prophesied to take up the sword which killed him and become a vessel for his rebirth. It turns out that [[spoiler:the protagonist and one of her colleagues, Carissa]] are the only two people who could fit the prophecy, which prompts those who don't want the Dead God back to try to kill them as a preventative measure. In the end, [[spoiler:Carissa is revealed to be the prophesied one, but the protagonist holds the sword]]. Depending on player choice, this may result in a WeCanRuleTogether deal, but it's also possible to [[ScrewDestiny defy the prophecy]].
* Parodied in ''D Is for Dungeon''. The BigBad returns earlier than it's supposed to and there's no time to wait around for the only one who can defeat it to grow up, so the main character goes through the game as a ''baby'', thereby making "dungeon-crawling" somewhat more literal than usual.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: Legion'' the Naaru Xe'ra reveals that the Child of Light and Shadow prophesied to end the Age of Demons is [[spoiler:Illidan Stormrage]]. He detests this concept as he long ago chose to ''fight'' destiny. After [[spoiler:killing Xe'ra]], he declares that there can be no Chosen One and that they must all save themselves.
* In ''VideoGame/WarCraft III'', Arthas is Ner'zhul's Chosen One, as Kel'Thuzad specifically states in "The Revelation".
* Harvey and Lucile of ''VideoGame/AsdivineCross'' were created specifically to be able to fight against and harm the ruling Deities of their world.
* ''VideoGame/KingsRaid'' has the Holy Sword Aea which chooses a new wielder to save the world whenever the threat of the demons is brewing. Kasel is its current wielder, who wonders if he's up to the task. Just like some of the other examples on this page, [[{{Deconstruction}} the series isn't afraid of exploring the ramifications of the concept]].
* The player character in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Crystal]]'' is one to the legendary Pokémon Suicune. When the player encounters it at the bottom of the Burnt Tower, Raikou and Entei immediately flee. Suicune bolts as well, but pauses for a moment in front of the player as if it was looking at them before also taking off. A few [=NPCs=] state that Suicune will allow a human to draw close to it if said human has a good natured soul. At the Tin Tower later on in the story, you encounter the three legendary Pokémon again. Entei and Raikou flee once more, but Suicune attacks the player as if it's testing them. Only the player is allowed to battle and possibly capture Suicune.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', each island has a Kahuna that acts as the island's guardian. A Kahuna is picked by the island's guardian deity Pokémon and once someone is chosen, they cannot refuse it. Kahunas are also very strong Pokémon trainers.
* ''VideoGame/{{ADOM}}'': Judging from the title screen song, the PlayerCharacter is the Chosen One of prophecy who will defeat the [[LegionsOfHell forces of Chaos]]... or do [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence something else world-altering]]. At least, if we're talking about a Player Character who makes it through the game. All the others are probably better described by other lines in the song, which include the words [[EverythingTryingToKillYou "born to die"]]. The Player Character is also very likely to be the Chosen One bearing the Ring of the High Kings awaited by the Eternal Guardian, though you can just kill him if you want to do things the hard way.
* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': When Aloy was born, she was found deep inside the most sacred part of Nora land--right underneath the claw of the Metal Devil that their Goddess fought. The Matriarchs couldn't agree on whether she was [[MessianicArchetype the daughter of All-Mother sent to save the Nora]], or [[AntiChrist the spawn of the Metal Devil sent to awaken it]], with Teersa believing the former and Lansra adamantly believing the latter. They were able to reach a compromise in making her an outcast, keeping her away from Nora society for their protection, in Lansra's mind, but keeping open the possibility for her to earn her place. [[spoiler:As it turns out, she actually was born to save them and the rest of humanity (albeit [[{{Reconstruction}} without the religious implications]]). She is a genetic clone of Elisabet Sobek, the creator of the AI GAIA tasked with terraforming the planet. GAIA knew that she would have full administrative access to nearly all Old Ones technology, which would allow her to restore GAIA, who had to destroy herself to stop HADES.]] She notably has some typical angst about this on learning the truth but Sylens, as always mocks her:
--> '''Sylens''': How tragic, to learn you're a person of towering importance!
* ''VideoGame/IdleMineRemix'': You. As the game reveals later on, [[spoiler:you were destined to be a miner, which is why you have a blacksmith and the reserve of gems at home. You were chosen to explore the endless riches of the underground.]]
* Adol from the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series is a rare combination of this and TheUnchosenOne. In most cases, TheChosenOne becomes badass because they were chosen. Adol, by contrast, didn't even [[JumpedAtTheCall Jump At The Call]] -- he set out looking for calls. In the OVA of ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} I'', it turns out he has the same name as the prophesized hero, but this is [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when the seer's superior reminds her that Adol Christin is a common name and the last one that came to town was a little girl. It turns out that the prophecy is in fact talking about him, but instead of him becoming a hero because he was chosen by the prophecy, it just correctly predicted that he'd show up and save the place. Adol's reputation begins preceeding him ''as early as the first game''. It's generally because of who he is and what he's done that he's given any powers or ancient artifacts that he doesn't get himself -- if you need a hero to save your land, it's only sensible to choose someone with job experience. In ''VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'', the daughter of Alma running the trials is not impressed with this random man who just showed up out of nowhere, but after he begins passing them, she asks around about who this 'Adol Christin' guy thinks he is. She grows ''much'' more impressed and respectful after that.
* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheWizard'': Played with. Roas, the descendant of the wizard who defeated the evil King dragon Keela, is completely useless until the very end of the game, when he suddenly becomes the only one able to wield the Dragon Slayer sword and kill Keela.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Juniper, saddled with the short end of the Chosen One stick by being forced to stay permanently in the same city.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** The Avatar, wielder of all four elements and {{reincarnation}} of the previous Avatars, is the Chosen One to act as a bridge between humans and spirits. The first series has Aang, and the second Korra. It sometimes just takes a while to find out who it is. The only exception is the very first one, who [[TheUnchosenOne chose his own destiny]], which started the so far ten millennia long reincarnation cycle
** According to Iroh, Zuko was also a Chosen One, as he was the only Firebender who could teach Firebending to the Avatar, and restore the Fire Nation's honor, by taking on the role of the new Fire Lord.
** The antagonist Amon also claims to have been chosen by the spirits to cleanse the world of Bending. [[spoiler:He's lying.]]
** The series, of course, also deconstructs this to a certain extent. Aang is a kid when he learns he's the Avatar, and promptly runs away from the pressure. Korra knew she was the Avatar from a young age, even younger than her predecessor was, and it's her ''only'' source of self-worth as her series starts. When she gets mercury poisoned in late season 3, it destroys her mentally. All of her friends/family try to tell her that she needs to focus on getting better and they’ll take care of the world in the interim but that just makes things worse because her self-worth is so tied up in being the Avatar. She gets over it with time.
* Ben Tennyson, aka ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' is cemented as the chosen wielder of the Omnitrix after TheMovie. In general, as of "Alien Force" he is very much The Chosen One for the universe, and it has become his destiny to become its protector.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/DragonBooster'': Artha, the Dragon Booster.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Skyland}}'': Lena is the "Lady of Light", destined to reunite the earth with someone who hasn't been revealed yet (nor, given the lack of new episodes, will ever be). A popular theory is that Mahad, Lena's brother and the deuteragonist, is the other chosen one.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Fry. Unusually for the trope, it wasn't just a convenient prophecy: he was "The Chosen One" because he lacked a "delta brain-wave" explained as being a result of [[MyOwnGrandpa having gone to the past and becoming his own grandfather]] thus giving him a [[GeniusDitz "superior yet inferior" intellect]].
-->'''Fry''': So I really am important? How I feel when I'm drunk is correct?\\
'''Nibblonian''': Yes. Except the Music/DaveMatthewsBand doesn't rock.
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Ron Stoppable is the chosen one with his Mystical Monkey Power, a power that eventually made him the strongest person by far in the entire series. Never mind that the power in question was supposed to just be a one shot thingy...
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': A prophecy states that "One ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja, the ninja destined to defeat the Dark Lord" (the Dark Lord being Lord Garmadon), and throughout the first season the four ninja compete and argue about who is deserves to be the Green Ninja. [[spoiler:It turns out to be [[TakeAThirdOption none]] [[RookieRedRanger of them]] and instead is ''Lloyd'' Garmadon, Lord Garmadon's son. While he was originally a BrattyHalfPint, by the time this is revealed, he's been taken in by the ninja and wants to be good, and after that he matures into a brave hero and becomes the most powerful ninja. Additionally, the "Dark Lord" the prophecy was referring to turns out to be not Garmadon but the Overlord, a GreaterScopeVillain who was around since the dawn of time and who ultimately manipulates Garmadon for his own plans.]]
* Subverted for ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius''. Sheen Estevez is called "The Chosen One" by the monks of Shangri Llama, thanks to his strange ability to put his foot behind his head. However, he isn't the ''true'' Chosen One, but merely a substitute (since the monks were sick of waiting around for the real one to show up).
* ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha'': Rikochet Buena Girl and the Flea from "The Return Of El Malefico". They are The Chosen One because they can stop El Malefico from taking over the world.
* ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'': The titular character is a twelve year old boy chosen by "Destiny" to be the hero of the series. He's equipped with a cosmic cap capable of opening portals that lead to all sorts of places around, in, and over Earth, although it can't make new portals.
* In a ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'' episode, Yin and Yang end up in a magic school, and they meet an otter named Terry, who is the Chosen One. He keeps saying this with dramatic fashion. It's a parody of Harry Potter, really.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': In the Wishology trilogy, Timmy is declared the Chosen One, and he takes every opportunity to remind everyone that he is. [[spoiler: He only is because, as it turns out, someone else MissedTheCall.]] Although it's shown in "The Exciting Middle Part" that Turbo Thunder lacked the qualities necessary to be the true chosen one when he tries to attack the guardian of the ice wand without provocation. Timmy on the hand chose to ask for the Guardian's help, proving himself to be the true chosen one.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': Zak Saturday is suspected by his parents to have been born to counter the Kur Stone, thus stopping a massive army of killer cryptids and saving the world, if need be. [[spoiler:Now that it's been revealed that [[TomatoInTheMirror Zak]] ''[[TomatoInTheMirror is]]'' [[TomatoInTheMirror Kur]]; it's destiny for Zak to take over the world (as far '''EVERY SINGLE CRYPTID''' on Earth is concerned).]]
* ''WesternAnimation/Xyber9NewDawn'': Jack is the only one who can defeat Machestro, who is threatening to destroy and take over the kingdom. The show actually takes from KingArthur legend.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E12HomerTheGreat Homer the Great]]", Homer is revealed as the Chosen One of the Stonecutters, the secret society that controls the world. However, [[spoiler:his actions as leader -- namely wanting to use the Stonecutters to help people -- annoy the members so much that they all quit and start the Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers]].
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E13GoneMaggieGone Gone Maggie Gone]]", Lisa believes she might be the "gem child" that is destined to bring world peace. [[spoiler:It's actually Maggie.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'' makes very literal use of The Chosen One, with [[spoiler:Hot Rod discovering he is the [[UnlikelyHero successor]] to the now-dead [[MentorOccupationalHazard Optimus Prime]], fulfilling the [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight prophesy]] of one who would "light our darkest hour", and being upgraded by [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement The Matrix]] into Rodimus Prime in the process]]. He is referred to as "The Chosen One" several times throughout the third season.
** Alternatively, this ''is'' what "Elita One" means. The choosing person then would be Alpha Trion, but there doesn't appear to be any purpose to it.
** [[spoiler: Ironically, Hot Rod is also the one who got Optimus killed by interfering right as Optimus was about to finish off Megatron.]]
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/Thundercats2011 [=ThunderCats=]]]'' (2011), Young RebelPrince Lion-O is marked as the Chosen One when, during a RiteOfPassage designed as a [[HiddenPurposeTest test]] of his readiness, the Sword of Omens granted Lion-O a [[{{seers}} vision]] of the future, [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield choosing him]] as the next king. The series' OpeningMonologue by CourtMage Jaga quotes a prophecy from [[TomesOfProphecyAndFate the Book of Omens]] concerning him:
-->'''Jaga''': For it was written that he would be born of fire, a king to lead his people to victory, against ancient spirits of evil.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' is fond of prophecies and Chosen Ones: Cartman, Butters Stotch, Craig Tucker, Kyle Brovfloski, and Stan Marsh have all been some kind of Chosen One, although in four different events and in different ways.
** Butters is stated to be some sort of child of prophecy by [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Aslan]], and goes on to save Imaginationland.
** Craig is stated to be a Chosen One by being part of an ancient Incan prophecy about defeating [[spoiler: giant guinea-pigs.]]
** Kyle is a blatant {{Expy}} of Jesus in one episode, willingly paying off everybody's debts from the recession and taking them on himself. You need to watch the episode to see just how blatant.
** Stan became the chosen one to the Scientologists, after they determined that his thetan level was identical to their dead prophet, L. Ron Hubbard. Stan went along with all the perks of being "chosen" right up until he realized Scientology was a massive pyramid scheme.
** Subverted with the Mysterion (AKA [[spoiler:Kenny]]) who is trying to find the meaning behind his not-very-pleasant ability ([[spoiler:constantly dying and coming back to life the next day with nobody remembering what happened]]). At a crucial moment, the spirit of an alien appears who seems to be claming that Mysterion is his son sent to Earth. Then it turns out [[spoiler:it was [[ParodySue Mintberry Crunch]], who ends up saving the day.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'': As revealed in the season four finale, the members of Dethklok are the Chosen Ones of an ancient prophecy.
-->'''Murderface''': You mean we're the Jews?
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' featured Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's very own student and Chosen One. As the bearer of the Element of Magic, she would be sent to Ponyville to unite five more Elements of Harmony (all of them mares her age) under her leadership, so that she could use her friends as test-cases for the inevitable moment she must lead all of Equestria as its new princess. It's later revealed in the season 4 premiere that the Tree of Harmony, a mystical tree where the Elements of Harmony come from, foretold of a pony that bore a certain cutie mark that matches the six-pointed star shape of the Element of Magic, and it's implied but never stated that Celestia was searching for this pony to choose as her student.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', there's an episode where an order of monks think that Tohru is the latest reincarnation of their leader. [[spoiler: He isn't, but it's implied that ''Jade'' is.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheSecretDoor'', Romy and Nori believe Alexa is the only one able to stop Malucia.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': In "[[Recap/SamuraiJackS3E6JackAndTheTravelingCreatures Jack and the Traveling Creatures]]", Jack reaches a time portal that could take him back to the past. The portal's Guardian denies Jack entry, boasting that only one man is destined to defeat him and use the portal, and Jack is not that man. Jack challenges the Guardian anyway... and is soundly defeated. The Guardian only spares Jack at the last moment [[spoiler:when the portal itself shows him a vision of [[FutureBadass an older Jack with a beard and a crown]]. The Guardian sends Jack off, telling him that he's not ready to use the portal now. Jack ''is'' the Chosen One after all, but he still needs to take a few more levels of badass. Sadly backfired and [[DeconstructedTrope painfully deconstructed]] as Aku easily befelled The Guardian, destroyed the portal (among many), and subjected the future to a more hellish half-century.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'': James "Jim" Lake Jr. is the latest Trollhunter -- one who uses the Amulet of Daylight to protect the Human and Troll worlds from Gunmar and his hordes -- as well as the first ''human'' trollhunter ever.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}'': In "A Quest for the Lost Mixamajig", King Nixel ends up creating a ruse plot on who will be the Chosen One to unlock the secrets of the Mixamajig, where Snoof is the one picked for his gullibility and heavy want to be special. Eventually, [[spoiler:it is revealed that this was pulled on multiple Mixels at once, leading to a fight over who the Chosen One is, making it easier for them to fall into the King's trap.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Invoked and subverted; Bill Cipher made the Author his UnwittingPawn by telling him he was the Chosen One. The Author eventually figured out that he was being played, but not before building Bill's DoomsdayDevice. The final episode reveals that [[spoiler:Ford is actually one of TheChosenMany in a ritual to destroy Bill. However, events prevent this ritual from playing out, and so other methods are used]].
-->"He told me he was a muse, and that he chose one brilliant mind a century to inspire. What a fool I was, blinded by his flattery and games."
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Adora discovers that she's the first She-Ra chosen in a thousand years, tasked with restoring balance to Etheria and defeating the Horde. [[spoiler:Darkly subverted, but with implications that the fifth season will make it a DoubleSubversion. Adora ''was'' chosen, but by an AI programmed by AbusivePrecursors. "Restoring balance to Etheria" means bringing online all the power sources for the First One superweapon built into the planet - which will kill everyone; the Horde is only relevant because it's why Scorpia hasn't connected to the Black Garnet yet. Essentially, what Adora's been chosen to be is a ''firing pin'', and she ends up destroying the magic sword that lets her use her powers in order to save a large chunk of the universe. ''However.'' Season 4 ''also'' establishes that the She-Ra identity isn't tied to the sword; rather, the sword was a First One creation to ''hijack'' She-Ra and bring her power under the First Ones' control. So it may be that Adora is ''still'' the Chosen One - just chosen by Etheria itself, not Light Hope.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Witches Before Wizards" Luz gets fed up with [[WretchedHive the Boiling Isles]] being a lot more dreary and cynical of a fantasy world than she was hoping for. When a wizard named Adagast tells her she's "the chosen one", Luz leaps at the chance for a genuine adventure. Unfortunately, she eventually learns [[spoiler: the quest is fake. [[TreacherousQuestGiver Adagast]] is actually a "puppeteer demon" using illusions as part of an elaborate scheme to take out Eda, Luz's mentor and Adagast's major competition in the potions market, by using Luz as bait.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Eren from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
** [[spoiler:Considering his prophetic dream at the beginning of the anime, and its puzzling counterpart in the manga with the Mysterious Girl, and also adding to the memories of Grisha Yeager and Eren Kruger that he later inherited (keep in mind, this all happened before Eren gained the Attack Titan), it's heavily implied that Eren was ''always'' meant to inherit the Attack Titan.]]
** [[spoiler:As the military junta poises him as the flag-carrier for their cause, his followers and the public in general at Paradis see Eren as a messiah of sorts, who will lead them in glorious victory against their enemies. Of course, the junta loses control of Eren completely, as it's implied that Eren both drank the Kool-Aid and is being led by the nose by his brother Zeke's agenda]].
* Subverted in ''Hitoribotchi no Uchuu Sensou'' (literally "[[LiteralMetaphor One-Man Cosmic War]]"), a short sci-fi manga by [[Creator/FujikoFujio Fujiko F. Fujio]]. A sci-fi-enthusiastic schoolboy gets chosen by some aliens from another planet like Earth to fight his clone for the sake of his own Earth. He asks the aliens why they choose him, to which they simply reply that the selecting process is completely randomized.
* ''Anime/Pokemon2000'': Ash is the chosen one, [[WebVideo/ThatDudeInTheSuede for really realsies]]. It became a meme for him to be the chosen one of ''everything.'' Though he was initially adverse to the idea himself.
-->'''Ash''': Right now I wish my mom had named me "Bob" instead of Ash.\\
'''Ash (during a trek across a frozen Tundra)''': Right now, I feel more like the [[{{Pun}} frozen one]].
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': the title character, and to a lesser extent, all the other "Sailor" characters...the non-evil ones, at any rate.
* In ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', the creation of the eponymous {{Magical Girl}}s is initially presented as an accident, but even with LegoGenetics in place, the whole thing seems too convenient. Near the end, MissionControl reveals that they were lying and had actually gone and tracked down five girls that were perfect matches for the DNA they had lying around. It's explicitly stated as [[GaiasVengeance the Earth itself]] having chosen the five of them to protect it.
* Subverted in ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'' where it turns out that [[spoiler:the hero is NOT the chosen flame-wielder, and the villain IS]].
** [[spoiler:Don't worry, he is still a chosen one...[[ApocalypseMaiden to destroy all other flame-wielders and their creations]].]]
* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'': Three schoolgirls are dropped into an alternate reality where they are declared to be "the legendary Magic Knights" and are set off on a journey to become said legendary Magic Knights. Subverted in that what you (and they themselves) think they're chosen for and what they're ''actually'' chosen for are in no way close. They were informed that they have to save Cephiro, but mislead on who they're saving it ''from''.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': A title "Child of Prophecy" variously ascribed to Minato, Nagato and Naruto. Since Nagato and Minato both died without doing anything nearly as Chosen One-y as Naruto, it's a safe bet that Naruto's the real one.
** [[spoiler: [[BigBad Obito Uchiha]] in a manner of speaking could be this, probably more so than Naruto as his actions are largely responsible for the plot and all opportunities Naruto has to show he is the chosen one are derived from them]]
* Kamui in ''Manga/{{X1999}}'', as well as the rest of the Dragons of Heaven and Earth.
* Though it doesn't fit perfectly, Nasu says that in the ''{{Franchise/Nasuverse}}'', only one person can be born with the potential to possess "Eyes of Death Perception". This is notable because it implies that [[LightNovel/KaraNoKyoukai Ryougi Shiki]] and [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Tohno Shiki]] exist in [[AlternateUniverse separate universes.]]
* Griffith of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' is a good example of a villainous Chosen One, what with being [[spoiler:chosen by the Crimson Behelit to become the fifth member of the Godhand during the Eclipse]].
** Goes even further than that. [[spoiler: He's the chosen king of Midland.]]
* Played with in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', where Shinji is one of the handful of people who can defend humanity by piloting the titular Evangelion biological mecha. Subverted and deconstructed thoroughly, like all other things on the show. [[spoiler:The biological mech he is forced to pilot by his dad has his mother's soul in it. Same situation with Asuka. They were chosen because their mothers would accept no substitutes, and his father had plans with his mother's soul. Then again, said mother also had plans for Shinji...]]
* Subverted and then played straight in ''LightNovel/DemonKingDaimao'' right on the 1st episode where the protagonist is calculated to be this generation's [[spoiler:demon king]]. Six chapters later, [[spoiler:Hiroshi is also shown to be sorted as the next Hero, and this is confirmed by taking on the legendary weapon.]]
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Yugi (the little one) is referred to as a Chosen One, though in this case, a more appropriate description might be chosen ''vessel'' as [[SharingABody his body]] provides the spirit within the Millennium Puzzle with a physical connection to reality allowing ''him'' to save the world. Though [[spoiler: Yugi turns out to be the one who will defeat the pharaoh in battle allowing him to move on to the afterlife.]] Yugi tends to have more messianic associations to his name than Yami Yugi.
** Atem is referred to as 'the chosen Pharaoh' in the Millennium World arc, and reference is made to him being part of some prophecy that is never exactly defined, except that he would be able to summon the Gods.
* In its various continuities, ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' has two distinct categories of humans partnered with Digimon, [[Anime/DigimonAdventure the second and most well-known]] falling under this trope. The Chosen Children (dubbed as "[=DigiDestined=]") are chosen by some higher power for the purpose of partnering with a Digimon to save the Digital World. The term is explicitly used in reference to the protagonists in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 its sequel]] (who are picked by the members of Gennai's order), and ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' (where [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Ophanimon]] is the one who chose them). Unlike most examples of the trope, there are multiple Chosen Children, to the point where the ''Adventure'' continuity had an arc where the main characters assisted Chosen around the world and concluded with [[TheChosenMany everyone in the world]] becoming one.
** In ''Digimon Frontier'', they were actually chosen ''twice''. Ophanimon sent a text message to thousands of people in the human world, and only those pure of heart responded to her message. Out of those hundreds of children, she didn't know who was fit to possess the Spirits until they crossed the border into the Digital World, and even after that, they had to find the Spirits and prove themselves courageous enough to be worthy of them before they could use them. Slightly different case with [[SixthRanger Koichi]], who wound up in the Digital World by another method, but was nonetheless chosen as the proper bearer by his particular Spirits.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' follows its predecessor, with Juudai being the Chosen One to protect the ''universe'' from the Light of Ruin. Johan is also apparently a Chosen One, but of what is [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot isn't ever revealed]].
* In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', whoever makes a human Coralian smile first naturally makes that person "the chosen one". "The chosen one" will pair up with the particular human Coralian to lead humans and Coralians to co-existence and prevent war. The protagonist Renton Thurston was that very person, and the only one shown in the entire series to achieve things where no one else can. He wasn't "chosen" in the prophetic sense, but chosen by Eureka to be her mate. A bonus line for this trope, said by Maurice in the final episode: "The only one who can save our mama(Eureka), is our papa!(Renton)"
* [[InvokedTrope Invoked,]] [[PlayingWithATrope played with]] [[ZigZaggingTrope and ultimately]] [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. The eponymous main character is [[InvokedTrope identified]] early on as having huge potential as a magical girl, and WeaselMascot ''[[GratuitousFrench du jour]]'' Kyuubey spends most of his time trying to convince her to contract with him and thus become one. [[PlayingWithATrope The catch?]] Madoka, being [[TheDitz your typical magical girl protagonist]], never actually musters up the courage to do it, or hasn't yet as of Episode 10 at least ([[spoiler: [[AlternateTimeline not in this timeline]], that is]]); she nearly does on a few occasions, but something [[AnyoneCanDie always]] [[DynamicEntry intervenes]], [[DeclarationOfProtection for better]] [[CrapsaccharineWorld or]] [[NightmareFuel for worse]]. [[SubvertedTrope The kicker?]] [[spoiler: Despite the fact that it places an enormous burden on Sayaka, who for all her heroic efforts simply isn't as strong a magical girl, and that this does not [[HeroicBSOD end]] [[FaceMonsterTurn well]], ''this is actually for the best'', [[FallenHero given what]] [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie magical girls]], [[ApocalypseMaiden and Madoka in particular]], [[TheCorruption will inevitably]] [[WasOnceAMan become]].]]
** At the end of the anime, [[spoiler:Madoka becomes a magical girl and uses her wish to keep witches from being born, though she ultimately [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence]] because of it and renders herself RetGone because the wish would have transformed her into a witch herself.]]
** Madoka Magica is a deconstruction of this and several other tropes [[spoiler: Homura, one of Madoka's friends, has the ability to travel through time. When Madoka was killed (In Homura's timeline), she kept going back to stop her from dying. She failed repeatedly, causing numerous new time lines to form. These actions to prevent Madoka from becoming a Magical girl, inadvertently made her to become the chosen one, as so many timelines tied into her, her power greatly increased. She was chosen to be the great savior/destroyer because of Homura's actions.]]
* In ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Nagato, Asahina and Koizumi tell Kyon that he is the Chosen One, the person that Haruhi has chosen.
** In "The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya," Koizumi speculates on whether Haruhi herself is some sort of chosen one, chosen by the true god to fix a flawed world.
* In ''Manga/ArataTheLegend'', [[DecoyProtagonist Arata is at firstmade out to be this]], but it's actually Hinohara who is destined for greatness in Amawakuni.
* The Book of Darkness, an all-powerful magical tome from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' chooses its master at random, and the most recent one is a paraplegic young Japanese girl by the name of Hayate Yagami. [[spoiler:This also makes her a different kind of Chosen One, as Gil Graham, the TSAB admiral who had been tracking the book down decided that she will be the last master, as he planned to seal her together with the book when it goes berserk when it is completed since she was alone and nobody would mourn for her. Nanoha and Fate have other plans.]]
* [[MeaningfulName Duck]] is chosen by Drosselmeyer to become the eponymous MagicalGirl of ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', in order to move along the plot of [[RewritingReality his story]]. He conveniently fails to mention [[DownerEnding how the story is supposed to end...]]
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': It's been made clear from the earliest parts of the manga that Urahara has been looking for "The One" for a long time. When Ichigo defeats the story's first Menos Grande, Urahara's followers become convinced Urahara has finally found "The One", with Yoruichi becoming convinced of this only after Ichigo's bankai training. Later on, it's indicated that Ichigo's path will take his future away from him, but that he needs to follow it to "protect everyone". When the Vandenreich begins tracking down the five "Special War Potentials", Ichigo's revealed to be one of them when Yhwach tries to forcibly recruit him. The Sternritters regard Ichigo as the "head" of the Special War Potentials.
* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', the Magi appear throughout history to choose people who will become the rulers of the current age. Aladdin is the only Magi so far who has chosen his King Candidate, his friend Alibaba. The other Magi seem to have other goals in mind besides choosing a king. [[spoiler:As the bearer of Solomon's Wisdom, Aladdin is a Chosen One too.]]
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', Blue has called Megumi the one who would save the world for the Phantom Empire. In a world where there are Cures for just about every corner of the world, it's kinda hard to see that, but seeing how as she's gotten [[TheLoad Hime]] to start working to be a better Cure and faced down [[TheDragon Phantom, the Precure Hunter]] and ''not'' get herself captured, it's easy to see why Blue would call her that.
* ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty: Decode'' brutally and horrifyingly deconstructs this trope with Satyajit Shyamalan, the villain of its first season. He thinks that because [[spoiler: he was the SoleSurvivor of an attack that killed 4,000 people]], and, to a lesser extent, because he was a ChildProdigy, he is the Chosen One in question and that therefore the only people who matter are him and those he's willing to accept as equally special. As a result, he spends the season trying to track down a super weapon with the power to wipe out all life on earth, because he thinks he can control it and that it will eliminate everyone but those he considers most worthy of life. [[spoiler: It ends up being too powerful and kills him.]] He's one of the most evil and repulsive characters in the series and to top it all off, it's implied that his entire motivation is rooted in SurvivorGuilt. The idea seems to be that no sane person would ever seriously consider that they were the Chosen One.
* Parodied in ''Manga/FairyTail''. Lucy wonders if she's this when [[spoiler:she's the only one who can use magic in Edolas]]. She is immediately shot down. [[spoiler:Then everyone else gets their own mana potions to drink, and they're right back to using their powers.]]
* ''Franchise/DragonBall''
** PlayedWith this. During ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Vegeta firmly believes that one needs to be the Chosen One to become a Super Saiyan, something that should be achieved by him since he is the Saiyan Prince. After being beating to near death by Frieza, he concludes that Goku is the real Chosen One destined to ascend and defeat Frieza. In Bardock's final vision in [[Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku the TV Special]], he foresees Goku challenging Frieza, and Goku is the first one to ascend to Super Saiyan in a thousand years and does defeat Frieza. Then Super Saiyan gets hit with UniquenessDecay and any Saiyan can become one with the right amount of anger and power, and Goten and Trunks achieved Super Saiyan without even trying. Then the Chosen One idea is brought back in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of Gods]]'' where Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God and the soundtrack for the ascension is even called the Chosen One. Also, unique to Goku, he keeps the power of godhood even after the time limit runs out.
** Broly was created on the idea of creating a true Chosen One by him being the Legendary Super Saiyan born every thousand of years.
* {{Subverted}} in ''Manga/DeathNote''. When Light is approached by [[{{Shinigami}} Ryuk]], the original owner of the Death Note who sent it to the human world, Light asks why he was the one given the notebook. Ryuk laughs in his face and tells him he dropped the notebooks so ''anyone'' could find it, which is why he wrote the instructions for the Death Note in English, the most popular language in the world.
* Wanda of ''Anime/KamiwazaWanda'' was chosen by his father to stop the Bugmin [[spoiler:before his planet was frozen]].
* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', protagonist Izuku Midoriya is chosen by All Might to be the ninth holder of One For All, a powerful SuperStrength Quirk passed from wielder to wielder. With it, he inherits the privilege and burden of becoming the world's greatest superhero to protect people and ensure peace. As the series progresses, this trope is played with for all it's worth concerning the power of One For All: [[spoiler:First, it was revealed that Izuku wasn't the first choice -- Mirio Togata, alias Lemillion, was scouted as the recipient but All Might ran into Izuku. When Mirio is BroughtDownToNormal, Izuku attempts to pass it on to him, but he refuses. Later on, it's revealed that the previous seven weren't special at all -- the first holder was All For One's brother and everyone after him was given the power so they could continue the fight against All For One. Nana Shimura, the seventh holder, decided to play this trope when she gave it to Toshinori Yagi, the man who'd become All Might. However, it seems that Izuku might be using this trope in a new way, as the first person to use all of One For All's gathered Quirks.]]
* Akko in ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' is chosen to be the wielder of the powerful Shiny Rod wand much like her idol Shiny Chariot. In [[Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2013 the original short movie]], she comes across it in a treasure room of a dungeon, while in [[Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017 the series adaptation]], she finds it in the Arcturus Forest on the outskirts of her school.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Creator/DCComics has a Chosen One in the form of Billy Batson, chosen over everyone else on the planet to wield the powers of the gods as the mystically powered superhero [[{{ComicBook/Shazam}} Captain Marvel]].
* In the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip "The Glorious Dead", the power behind the Omniversal Spectrum intends to pass its power to one of two adversaries, representing good and evil. The Master believes the Chosen Ones are the Doctor and himself; they're actually the renegade Cyberman Kroton and the Master's [[TheDragon Dragon]], Cardinal Morningstar.
* In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', ComicBook/JeanGrey is believed to be the reincarnated Phoenix God and is being fought over by two [[ChurchOfHappyology cults]]. It's deliberately ambiguous whether she is, or is just a very powerful mutant with a lot of mental problems.
* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'': Sonic's sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower, was named as the Chosen One in a prophecy made by the Ancient Walkers that said he would collect the Chaos Emeralds and begin the "Great Harmony." The problem is, the prophecy was worded badly, thus what Tails had to do was incredibly blurry. He thought his fight with Master Mogul as Titan Tails was the prophecy, but he realized that he'd gotten it wrong when [[AIIsACrapshoot A.D.A.M.]] brought the entire ''universe's'' collection of Chaos Emeralds to Mobius and had Shadow's help in shunting them into the Zone of Silence, where Feist would unify them.
* The ''ComicBook/ArmyOfDarkness'' comics go into much further expositions and machinations that revolve around just how much it sucks being The Chosen One. (Aside from all your friends and loved ones going [[NotUsingTheZWord deadite]] ) Makes sense seeing as [[TomeOfEldritchLore The Necronomicon]] itself has its ties directly to each one of each generation. [[spoiler: Even going so far as to have a Werewolf [[AscendedFanboy assistant]] type with his mentor's full journal account of the last generation's Chosen One who apparently worked himself into the Jack the Ripper mythos.]]
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' is not a very powerful character by comparison with the people around him, but he has an odd tendency to discover there are ancient prophecies about him. He was, for instance, destined to stop the "Bend Sinister" (alongside ComicBook/DoctorStrange), and no less a pair of personages than Lord Chaos and Master Order claimed to have guided his life to defeat ComicBook/{{Thanos}}. There is a [[ComicBook/JMSSpiderMan story arc]] which explains that Spider-Man is the chosen avatar of the Spider God, and most of his villains are the avatars of various Animal entities as well.
* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'':
** Particularly true in Alan Scott's case as he is the third Chosen One in a line with each being chosen for a different purpose. To a lesser extent, the Green Lantern Corps consist of 7200 members who are the "Chosen Ones" for their specific sectors of space (though they're chosen for worthiness, not to fulfill a prophecy.) The only true chosen one of the Corps to date is Sodam Yat who was tied to a prophecy about the ''ComicBook/BlackestNight''.
** Kyle Rayner, however, was a subversion. Ganthet gave him the last GL ring because Kyle was the first person he saw.
* Subverted in the comic ''ComicBook/{{Chosen}}''. After a series of unusual events, Jodie discovers that he has a greater calling, and is destined for big things. After saying goodbye to all his friends, Jodie goes off to fulfill his true destiny...[[spoiler: as the Antichrist.]]
* In Creator/CrossGen comic ''ComicBook/{{Mystic}}'' it is much to the shock of everyone when rather than Genevieve, a studious and hard working student who has spent her life preparing to be chosen, it is her sister Giselle, and irresponsible socialite who is chosen. No one is pleased with this. Giselle herself least of all.
* Zerain in ''ComicBook/{{Megalex}}''. He's destined to lead the Undergrounder rebel tribes against the evil technocrats on the surface of the eponymous CityPlanet.
* Creator/ChaosComics: once thought to be ComicBook/LadyDeath herself, it's actually the Latina vampire Oblivia, who defeats Armageddon in the one and only CrisisCrossover.
* All wielders of [[ComicBook/CaptainUniverse the Unipower]] are this. However [[spoiler: the Enigma Force specifically tells ComicBook/{{X 23}} that she is the future heir to its power]].
* In ''ComicBook/ShamansTears'', Joshua Brand is the chosen one of Wikan Tanka, the Great Spirit of the Sioux; selected to be her champion and defend the balance of nature.
* In ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic'', Timothy Hunter is a teenage boy with the potential to become the [[TheArchmage most powerful magician of the modern age]]. This is a clear case of BlessedWithSuck, as his existence and potential become widely-known in occult circles and everyone from evil magicians to demons wants to either control or destroy him.
* Arwyn in ''ComicBook/{{Sojourn}}'', who can wield Ayden's arrow.
* ''ComicBook/PS238'': [[spoiler: Julie/84]] becomes the Champion of Earth, after winning the contest set by [[TricksterGod Veles]].
* In ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]: Regeneration One'', Optimus Prime trains Hot Rod to be his successor. After stopping Megatron's apocalyptic reign of terror on Earth, Optimus turns command of Cybertron over to Hot Rod so that Optimus can attempt to help humanity rebuild. Hot Rod eventually becomes Rodimus Prime in his own right, and in the DistantFinale, [[spoiler: as the last surviving Transformer eons later, he dies and passes the energy of the Matrix back to Cybertron, restoring it to life and bringing about a new generation of Cybertronians]].
* Alex Elder in ''{{ComicBook/Crimson}}'' is a young vampire with unique powers who is destined to save the world from vampirekind. Its subverted when [[spoiler:its revealed that there have been countless other "chosen" vampires before him that failed in their mission, with one of them becoming the BigBad's partner-in-crime and during the final battle, its not Alex to deal the final blow against the main villain, but his mentor himself]].
* Pia of ''ComicBook/BlackScience'' manages to crash-land in a universe in accordance with their Chosen One prophecy. She is able to leverage this political capital to negotiate peace between the warring tribes. Whether the prophecy was legitimate or just lucky is ambiguous.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Birthright}}'', Mikey Rhodes was plucked from Earth as a child in accordance with a prophecy that he would one day become the warrior that would save the realm of Terrenos by defeating [[EvilOverlord God-King Lore]]. Then it gets harshly {{deconstructed}} as Mikey spent decades training and fighting, only to lose in what was supposed to be his final battle. Then, after Lore showed him visions of how his family had suffered and broken apart because of his absence, Mikey accepted an offer to become Lore's agent on Earth just for a chance to see his family again. [[spoiler:Furthermore, the prophecy that everyone believed was about Mikey saving Terrenos was actually recycled from an earlier version to give the resistance hope. The original hero who was summoned to save the land from a terrible evil? ''[[FallenHero God-King Lore]] himself!'']]
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'': Explored with a prophecy declaring ''Starscream'' of all people as a Chosen One, destined to unite Cybertron. Naturally, the minute he learns this, Starscream's ego balloons... and as events go on, the pressures of being designated Cybertron's savior start apparently wearing on his mind and conscience, since everyone ''expects'' him to do the right thing, and he's still ''Starscream'', not to mention being overshadowed by Optimus Prime. Later on in the series, Galvatron mentions that the person who dreamt up this supposed prophecy was tripping on bad booze when he made it. [[spoiler:''Optimus Prime'' goes further - Onyx Prime made up the prophecy to inspire folk... and just as it looks like there might be a grain of truth to it, or that Starscream really is destined for greatness, Shockwave shows up to tell him that, no, he's not special. He's a ''patsy''. Shockwave made up the prophecy solely so Starscream would end up in charge of Cybertron and utterly fail at the job, leaving it ripe for Shockwave's plans.]]
** Subverted over in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', where Getaway is convinced that he shows signs of Matrix affinity and has a destiny to be Prime. Nobody else believes him, PsychoPsychologist Froid actively eggs them on to watch his complexes in action, and by the end of it even he has to admit that his "grand destiny" was mostly bullshit.
* In ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', Link must undertake an arduous quest to find the Master Sword. One problem: The sword itself chooses its wielder, so there was a possibility that even if he survived his journey, the sword still wouldn't let him use it. Luckily, it does.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/TheCalvinverse'' side story ''Prelude to a Season'' has ''[[spoiler:Socrates]]'' being labeled as this by the aliens. The last few episodes of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' seem to build up to something, supporting this theory.
* In the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'':
** Shining Armor's story strongly suggests that he has a special destiny. [[BigGood Mother Deer]] and her followers later confirm this, explaining that [[spoiler: as he's ImmuneToFate, he's the only one who can lead [[ClockRoaches the Blank Wolf]] to destroy [[HumanoidAbomination Makarov]] and [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong remove his taint from the timeline]]]]. His story also invokes this for laughs, as the DarkIsNotEvil cult that rules Massailand becomes convinced that he's ''their'' Chosen One, and then that he isn't (in both case, because of their InsaneTrollLogic); Shining is worried that, given his [[WeirdnessMagnet luck]], they might be right the first time. It turns out [[spoiler:the ''actual'' thing he was chosen for was to be [[ForWantOfANail the nail between the]] BadFuture Dark World timeline and the main timeline, he was TheUnChosenOne for beating Makarov.]]
** During the Rumors Arc, [[spoiler:The CMC are chosen by the Concepts to save the universe from Discord and companies' [[RewritingReality endgame]], as they were competent enough to get the job done, but Discord and his allies would never suspect them. They succeed. Button Mash is also chosen by Havoc, to spread rumors that would give the CMC a fighting chance and then to become their ally due to the video game powers said rumors granted him. It's implied Silver Spoon was also chosen, but would only have been brought in as a 'plan B' had the CMC failed, as she'd be the best chance of stopping Nightmare Diamond Tiara at that point.]]
** During the same Arc, [[spoiler:several ponies are chosen for the difficult task of keeping ponies ''alive'' and protecting them from the various rumors monsters and dangers. AK Yearling (who before this was JUST AK Yearling) was chosen by Pandora to become the ''real'' Daring Do, as she had qualities that made her a perfect fit. While we don't hear ''who'' it is, Pandora did the same thing with a filly who became Prancy Drew. Venus chose a mare named Lovestruck to merge with her deceased son Cupid's Shadow of Existence to resurrect his concept and become a Demi-Goddess, as she as Cupid's twice removed {{Reincarnation}} via the Lost Age. Notably, all of these are ''permanent'' changes (even if the Rumors are undone and everything is put back to normal) and the ponies involved had to accept before hand for that reason.]]
* Subverted and played like a fiddle in ''Fanfic/ThroughTheWellOfPirene'', where Daphne Ocean -- the real Chosen One -- isn't chosen at all. In fact, she has to go quite a ways out of her way in order to take her place as the Chosen One and make sure everything passes as it's supposed to.
* ''FanFic/QueenOfAllOni'': Kuro suggests that [[VillainProtagonist Jade]] is this for the Shadowkhan, being the final product of Hiruzen's last plan during Tarakudo's rebellion. And on top of that, [[EnigmaticMinion Blankman]]'s comments imply that she's ''also'' the reincarnation of the Ben Shui order's Chosen One (as was implied in canon).
** Karasu later confirms the latter, explaining that the Chosen One's job is to act as a focal point for the [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil Grand Design]], sustaining it and all the [[SealedEvilInACan seals]] connected to it. Though he also says that Jade's status as such is a moot point by now, since enough outside interference has damaged the Design to the point where it's doomed to collapse no matter what now.
* ''FanFic/TheCaptainOfTheVirtualConsole'' has Gancena, chosen by Selene to save all video game worlds.
* ''Fanfic/AgesOfShadow'': For an evil example, there's [[DarkMessiah Boaz]], who [[FallenHero Jade]] spends years secretly training and preparing for the day he could seize the position of [[HighPriest Himinion]] and lead the [[ReligionOfEvil Shadow Walkers]] to conquering the world in her name.
** A straighter example is King Cheherazad, who is trained since childhood to lead the battle against Jade and the Shadow Walkers.
* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', Terra believes either Bass or himself to be this, and wishes to make Sunstar proud of him by defeating Bass and proving his superiority. The chosen one is said to save the rest of the Stardroids.
* The Seraphim, the main antagonist of Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat, is most certainly ''not'' this, but was groomed to believe he is.
* [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Xander]] in ''[[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-25153-4/Tjin+Big+Brother.htm Big Brother]]'' confronts the previous [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatars]] over this idea when they talk about Aang's duty to bring peace to the world by defeating the Fire Nation.
-->'''Xander''': "I’ve seen the whole ‘One person in all the world’ system at work before and it is bullshit. Always has been, always will be. If everyone wants peace then EVERYONE FIGHTS!"
* It's a frequent Pokémon FanFiction cliche to have Ash be one of these, destined to wield Aura and command Legendaries.
** ''FanFic/AshesOfThePast'' spoofs this by revealing that Sir Aaron's Lucario knew that Ash (a descendant of Sir Aaron) was one when they first met ([[PeggySue in the new timeline]], after learning his lineage) because, according to him, it's ''hereditary''.
** ''Fanfic/ThePowerThatsInside'' calls this out when Ash mentions he doesn't want to be the one to save the world as it always ends up in a near-death experience for him. Pikachu ends up being the Chosen One.
* In Season 3 of ''FanFic/TheEquestrianWindMage'', Zelda states her belief, based on her prophetic dreams, that the Mane Six are meant to take up the mantles of the Six Sages.
* Invoked in ''Fanfic/TheFirstSaniwa'' in which the present-day saniwa is named Shiraha Yadachi (surname-first order) based on the Japanese expression ''shiraha no ya ga tatsu'' 白羽の矢が立つ – lit. hit with a white-fletched (divine) arrow – meaning the same thing.
* In the ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' universe, Franchise/HarryPotter is still this, not just for his prophesied showdown with Voldemort, but is also revealed to be the centerpiece to [[TheChooserOfTheOne Doctor Strange's]] LongGame to defend Earth from ComicBook/{{Thanos}}. He repeatedly makes it clear that [[IJustWantToBeNormal he hates all of this]], but his ChronicHeroSyndrome means that he feels that he has a duty to step up to the plate... though he won't be at all happy about it.
** Frey, Harry's ancestor and the First King of Asgard, was another chosen one, selected by the magic sword Van to wield it against [[spoiler: Surtur]]. Strange, who knew him, states that he was as happy about it as Harry is about his own destiny. But, like Harry, he felt that he had a duty to follow. And he did, even though it cost him his life.
* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'' has the Ben Shui Chosen One, [[spoiler: Jade]], the current reincarnation of the chi warrior Ben Shui, who was given the power to reincarnate by the Heart of Earth. In a later chapter, the spirit of a previous Chosen One, Joshua Norton, expresses the theory that they've been linked to the Earth in a way that causes the Chosen One of each age to be born as what is needed for that age instead of just reincarnating into people similar to the previous incarnations. For example, while Murasaki was a force against demons because her country needed her to fight the Oni, Rasputin was a politician and manipulator because that was the age of politicians and manipulators, etc.
* In ''Fanfic/DoYouBelieveInFairies'', the Harvest Sprite Finn chooses Evelyn to help save his county of Castanet because she's one of the few adults who can see {{Nature Spirit}}s. Evelyn is less-than-suited for the job and her friend think she's absurd for dropping out of college to become a farmer in a DyingTown that [[RetroUniverse doesn't even allow cars]], but she still goes to Harmonica Town nevertheless.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' has the fat panda Po chosen as the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway, seemingly just for bursting into the arena via fireworks. Seen as a decision marked by senility and coincidence by his disciple Shifu, Oogway nonetheless genuinely believes Po is more worthy than any of the highly trained Furious Five. It takes a while, but everyone realizes that the turtle's choice is absolutely right. [[spoiler:The sequels expand on this by revealing that Po becoming the Dragon Warrior was to also serve as a vehicle to help him on his path towards his ''true'' destiny: first to save China from Lord Shen, then to help panda-kind recover the lost art of chi mastery and defeat Oogway's brother-in-arms-turned-archnemesis Kai. In the short term, the fact that he ''is'' just some fat guy with more enthusiasm than training gives him a leg up on the current bad guy thanks to KevLard rendering his best attacks (which had earlier defeated every other Dragon Warrior candidate at once) useless.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'' makes use of this when referring to the cub Kovu, who was Scar's 'chosen one' as heir to the throne of the Pride Lands.
* Cale from ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' is the only one able to operate the ultimate TreasureMap to Mankind's salvation.
-->'''Cale''': For your information, I happen to be Humanity's last great hope.\\
'''Preed''': I weep for the species.
** Arguably a subversion since Cale wasn't initially chosen to do anything but keep the TreasureMap, it and him being key parts of an emergency backup plan.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'' deconstructs this trope. It initially describes the savior of the world as the 'Special' by some magical prophecy, but [[spoiler: the prophet's last words are that he made up the prophecy]], leading Emmet, the main character, to [[spoiler: sacrifice himself for others to be inspired to prevent Lord Business from carrying out his masterplan to glue the entire world together. Emmet ultimately uses the power of the same words said to him to convince Business himself that he's also worth something and doesn't need to gain superiority over others in order to feel better about himself.]]
--> '''Emmet''': [[spoiler:[[KirkSummation You don't have to be the bad guy. You are the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe. And you are capable of amazing things. Because you are the Special. And so am I. And so is everyone. The prophecy is made up, but it's also true. It's about all of us. Right now, it's about you. And you... still...can change everything]].]]
** However, this also serves as a very good reconstruction. [[spoiler:Vitruvius made up the prophecy to give people hope, which it does. Emmet's sacrifice causes him to become interesting and extraordinary, and the only thing he needed to become the Chosen One out of many ordinary people was to be [[SelfFulfillingProphecy told that he was]].]]
---> '''Vitruvius''': All this is true, because it rhymes.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BoltsAndBlip,'' Blip discovers he was built by Dr. Tommy specifically to stop Dr. Blood, and that he has a secret SuperMode that he can't control very well.
* WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} is pulled into Jafar's plans because he is "the Diamond in the Rough", the only one who can enter the Cave of Wonders and reach the Genie's lamp.
* The Detention Kids from ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife''. [[spoiler:For some reason, La Muerte as Mary-Beth, tells them they're not like other kids and need to hear Manolo's story.]]
* WesternAnimation/{{Moana}} pulls a DeconReconSwitch with this. [[AMinorKidroduction The plot begins]] with Moana's grandmother telling her and her peers the myth that the sea will select a chosen one who will find [[PhysicalGod the demigod Maui]] and return the Heart of Te Fiti. This is followed almost immediately by [[GeniusLoci the sea very literally choosing her]] by offering toddler-Moana the Heart. It gets deconstructed several times throughout the film, as Moana is confused as to why she was chosen due to having no sailing experience and never been beyond the reef of her island. As a result, she constantly second-guesses her decisions and develops a huge need to prove herself. Likewise, Maui [[JerkassHasAPoint constantly mocks the notion that the Ocean would randomly choose a young girl and points out that the ocean does not have perfect judgement]]. After [[spoiler:Maui [[TenMinuteRetirement temporarily abandons the quest]] when Moana’s recklessness during the first assault on Te Kā [[WreckedWeapon cracks his fish hook]]]], Moana also gives up [[HeroicBSOD and begs the sea to choose someone else]]. Only after receiving reassurance from [[spoiler:the spirits of Gramma Tala and her ancestors]] does she realize that [[AllLovingHero her love for her people and the sea]] and the desire to save them propels her to continue as TheUnchosenOne, reconstructing this trope. However, this does NOT mean the sea's choice was meaningless: it chose Moana [[EstablishingCharacterMoment after witnessing her act of kindness of helping a baby sea turtle to the water]]. Why was this important? [[spoiler:Te Kā [[JekyllAndHyde turns out to be Te Fiti transformed by her rage at the loss of the Heart]]. Maui is vital to the quest because he has lots of monster-fighting experience and teaches Moana to wayfind, but ultimately his strength and daring is not enough to stop Te Kā; it takes Moana's kindness and empathy to realize who Te Kā actually is, then [[BadassPacifist she asks the ocean to part the water so she can calmly convince the goddess to give up her anger and allow her heart to be restored]]. The ocean may not have perfect judgement, but it recognized that the person who will restore Te Fiti's Heart needed to have compassionate qualities and decided that Moana was worth a shot.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH2TimmyToTheRescue'' it is prophesied by Nicodemus that Timothy, the younger son of Jonathan Brisby would like his father step up to protect the rats of Thorn Valley from the wrath of NIMH who seeks to destroy them and their young civilization. The rats and their allies spend the better part of their time reinforcing this notion and preparing Timothy to take up his father's place as their protector, grooming him from childhood to fulfill this vague task before eventually being forced to do battle with NIMH itself. Interestingly, such a prediction was never mentioned in the original film and created exclusively for the sequel.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Tom in ''Film/{{Seventh Son|2015}}'' is a MagicalSeventhSon [[spoiler:and also the child of a human father and witch mother.]]
* In the documentary ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight''[[spoiler: a sexual predator spins an obviously untrue story that his twelve-year-old victim is a human/alien hybrid and The Chosen One who must have his child. The naive girl believes him for years.]]
* Jake from ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' is chosen by the tribal goddess Eywa and is the first human welcomed into the tribe.
* Neo in ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' trilogy. In ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', Neo discovers that the One is a [[spoiler: byproduct of the Matrix, anticipated and manipulated by the same artificial intelligence that created it and that he's merely just [[LegacyCharacter the latest of a long line]]. What makes him unique is his [[ScrewDestiny refusal to serve the function of the One]].]]
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', Anakin Skywalker is the Jedi's prophesied Chosen One, who will destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force, though he goes through several movies of being TheDragon before doing a HeelFaceTurn and fulfilling his destiny by [[spoiler:hurling the Emperor to his death]]. He remains extremely lucky and unusually skilled (at everything except relationships, apparently) the whole time, consistent with a standard Chosen One package. In a twist, it is strongly implied that [[spoiler:he was created by the Sith themselves using the Force, resulting in a "miraculous" birth]].
** Before the expanded universe reboot the Sith had their own Chosen One prophesy, the Sith'ari. It was originally intended to foreshadow Darth Bane in stories set before the Rule of Two was in effect, but it became something of a RunningGag that ''every'' major Sith character ''except'' Bane, including ones who lived millennia after the prophesy was fulfilled, thought it was them.
* John Connor is the chosen one to save mankind from destruction to the machines in the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' series. Mainly because of a StableTimeLoop. [[TimeTravel Thinking]] [[TimeyWimeyBall about]] [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast this]] [[IdiotPlot is]] [[MindScrew not likely to help your sanity.]]
** DeconstructedTrope, along with KidHero: what if your mother is [[MamaBear so determined to keep you safe]] that she drags you around the country committing acts of terrorism and teaching you paramilitary skills instead of anything close to a normal upbringing? Although [[ForegoneConclusion he does go on to lead humanity to victory]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist so maybe she isn't all wrong]].
* The main character in ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' is called "Chosen One". He's important because he has a ''sentient, talking '''tongue'''''.
-->'''Master Tang''': He told me that there will be a Chosen One.\\
'''Ling's Father''': (flashes back) There will be a Chosen One.
* In ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory'', Bastian is the one chosen to stop [[TheNothingAfterDeath The Nothing]]. It seems this calling was given to him the moment he opened the book and began reading.
** The book makes it clear this happens all the time.
* In ''Film/TheGoldenChild'', Chandler Jarrell is the man chosen to save the eponymous child from death. He's [[ResignedToTheCall not at all happy about it]].
* Reri in ''Film/{{Tabu}}'' is referred to as this word-for-word. It's a very bad deal for her, because she has been chosen to be a sort of Tahitian vestal virgin who can never be touched by a man--and she's in love.
* Jack Black's character in ''Film/YearOne'' ''thought'' he was the chosen one.
* ''Film/MotherOfTears'': Sarah kind of becomes this by default.
* Played with in the 2006 remake of ''Film/TheInitiationOfSarah''. The villains assume that the powerful MagicalGirl Sarah is the girl of prophecy that they need to sacrifice to complete their evil ritual. [[spoiler: It is actually Sarah's {{Muggle}} sister, Lindsey.]]
* Subverted in ''Film/{{Willow}}'', where a baby girl is prophesized to be the one to bring about the evil Bavmorda's downfall, but what actually happens is that all the people trying to protect her end up defeating the evil queen [[ProphecyTwist while she's still a baby]]. This happens in no small part due to a healthy dose of SelfFulfillingProphecy on the BigBad's behalf. The sequel novels go on to further deconstruct this; there are actually several mutually exclusive prophesies about her, all of which are fulfilled thanks to TimeyWimeyBall shenanigans.
* In ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'', the eponymous hero has earned his way into the elite group of soldiers who are the last hope against the massive enemy fleet. However, he refuses the call and just wants to go home. On his way home, [[spoiler: all the other soldiers are killed by a saboteur]] and he is forced to become the Last Starfighter.
* In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', Rick O'Connell is suddenly revealed to be the chosen one, even though the first film never made any mention of a prophesied chosen one, and every other character was a reincarnation of some ancient Egyptian/ninja. Same thing happened in ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', but without the Egyptian/ninjas.
* Liu Kang in ''Film/MortalKombat''.
* ''Film/HarryPotter'': The whole 'chosen one' angle is played up more here than the book. It's also pointed out that Voldemort creates a chosen one as much as the prophecy does.
* The baby boy in ''{{Film/Legion}}'' is supposed to be the second coming.
* The titular character in ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice'' is the Prime Merlinian, a sorcerer whose potential is equal to that of Merlin himself. Like Merlin, Dave is supposed to be able to do magic without a ring (or cane in Horvath's case). However, he lacks training in order to use this power and still needs Merlin's ring at first. He's also a physics genius, which is, apparently, a side effect of him being a sorcerer, and uses a combination of science and magic to defeat the BigBad.
* Sonmi-451 in ''Film/CloudAtlas''.
* Zachary Small was the protagonist and Chosen One of ''Film/{{Neverwas}}'', which means that Gabriel Finch, [[spoiler:rightful king of Neverwas]], expects Dr. Zachary to free Finch from the mental institution he's been relegated to.
* Implied in ''Film/DraculaUntold'', to be Vlad based on the Elder Vampire's comments.
-->'''Elder Vampire''': I have been waiting an eternity... For a man of your strength to arrive.
* Discussed in ''Film/OhGod''. Jerry himself wonders why the Big G would ask a store manager to spread His word. God tells him it has nothing to do with personal preference, and its all about chance.
-->'''Jerry Landers''': Why me?\\
'''God''': Why not you?\\
'''Jerry''' Landers: You mean there's no special...\\
'''God''': Life is a crap shoot, like the millionth customer that crosses the bridge gets to shake hands with the governor. You thought I picked you because you're better than everyone?\\
'''Jerry Landers''': I'm not?\\
'''God''': You're better than some but not as good as others, but you crossed the bridge at the right time.
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': Katniss is treated this way by the rebellion.
* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': ''Godzilla'' appears to be this as shown in a stinger to ''Film/KongSkullIsland''. He appears to be set up as the DestructiveSavior of mankind who will oppose the AncientEvil that is King Ghidorah.
* In ''Film/LazerTeam'', Adam has spent 38 years being trained to be the Champion of Earth, chosen by Colonel Emory to wear the [[PoweredArmor Suit of Power]] that is scheduled to be delivered to Earth in 2015. Then, on the day the suit is set to arrive, a bunch of losers accidentally shoot down the spacecraft and decide to try on the different pieces of the suit, causing it to bond with them. No wonder Adam is pissed. Those four idiots have just taken away his entire life's purpose. All he can do is to try to train them to use the suit, but their sheer incompetence and inability to work together (at least, at first) only confirms to him that he is the only one, who can save Earth. [[spoiler:He changes his mind after seeing the team successfully fight off alien agents. He ends up willingly acting as their coach during the final battle and then performs a HeroicSacrifice in order to give them a chance to succeed. He [[ObiWanMoment dies in the knowledge that his purpose is finally fulfilled]]]].
* In ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', the Mystics are convinced that Jen is the prophesized Gelfling who will heal the crystal. [[spoiler:They are right]].

[[folder:Literature]]
* Subverting this is what ''Literature/TheBrightestShadow'' is all about. The Hero is explicitly and undeniably chosen by destiny, but what he intends to do is horrifying to the characters (and presumably the reader).
* ''Literature/ElConquistador''. Quetza fills this trope, as well as TheCassandra, as he is more of a tragic character.
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' it turns out that the valet Axiel is actually, as he claims to be when he's ''very'' drunk, [[spoiler: the dwarf-king's son]], and he has been staying at Hurog as the servant of the quite nasty-tempered Hurogmeten because [[spoiler: his father had a dream about a chosen one who would be born there, who would set right what was done to the dragons long ago.]] He wanted to be at the right place at the right time.
* ''Litearture/{{Galilee}}'' by ''Creator/{{Clive Barker}}'' discusses the trope on several levels. First, Maddox believes himself to be the one, considering that the book you are reading has been written by him as part of his sacred mission to tell the Barbarossa stroy. In his mind he's the only one fit to accomplish it ''because'' he's only an observer, not an actor. As such, he plays the trope while having almost no relevance to the story unfolding. He grows slowly out of it during writing as he realises no book will never tell the whole truth in all it's detail despite his [[TheOmniscient omniscient]] tendencies. [[spoiler: subverted for good at the ending when the book is left unfinished]].
* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': All of them were chosen by fate for their talents/gifts. No room for tag-along kids or the load.
** Percy: MakingASplash (the only one we know of.)
** Piper: CharmPerson (excluding Drew-no-fighter.)
** Leo: PlayingWithFire (only one in decades.)
** Frank: {{Animorphism}}/ImmuneToFate/ AwesomenessByAnalysis.
** Hazel: DishingOutDirt/ BackFromTheDead/ CoolHorse.
** Jason: BlowYouAway/ ShockAndAwe (unique for flight.)
** Annabeth: TeenGenius (Arachne didn't stand a chance.)
* Katniss from ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. Arguably, she chose herself when she stepped up to volunteer, but by the later books it's revealed that some of the other characters have gone to great lengths to keep her as the figurehead for the rebellion.
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/KalpaImperial'': Seisdimillia was born with the eyes open, and her family made a great fuzz about it; so she actually ''believes'' that she has a great destiny and she's willing to achieve it.
* Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' is chock full of them: Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins, Aragorn. Although it can look like Frodo chose his task by himself, both he and Bilbo seem to have been pre-destined to carry the Ring: "Bilbo was ''meant'' to find the Ring, and...[Frodo was] ''meant'' to have it." WordOfGod has confirmed that Frodo's apparent 'choice' was accepting his destiny, and mentions that no-one except Frodo could have [[spoiler:got the Ring all the way to Mount Doom. Of course, he fails to destroy the Ring, so possibly subverted. The world is ultimately saved by Samwise Gamgee the gardener and Gollum the corrupted hermit, who destiny [[TheUnchosenOne had nothing to say about whatsoever]]]].
* Subverted, while ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is even given the "chosen one" title by the general wizarding public, though this is based on a correct guess anyway. Oddly enough, Harry is not chosen by destiny but instead by [[spoiler:his nemesis - who, in his ignorant paranoia, makes a rod for his own back.]] Played straight in the way Harry fulfills the role and the way most people treat him throughout the books.
** As much as the trope is subverted, it's also played out literally; Voldemort overheard a prophecy about a child who would/could destroy him, which might have applied to either of two infants. The ONE he CHOSE to go after (or at least to go after first) was Harry, and the rest is history.
** Though, it is also worth mentioning that the infant Voldemort ''didn't'' choose ([[spoiler:Neville Longbottom]]) ended up playing a major part in his defeat ([[spoiler:destroying the last [[SoulJar horcrux]]]]) as well.
** Also played with, in that Dumbledore states outright that he believes prophecies are only fulfilled if people want them to be, Voldemort ''chose'' to believe that only Harry could kill him, also implying that if Harry decided to say ScrewDestiny anyone could have done it.
** [[https://youtu.be/0uvkdiTN5vY The Film Theorists have come up with an alternative theory]]. [[spoiler:''Both'' are the Chosen One.]]
* From Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Discworld''.
** {{Inverted|Trope}} with Rincewind in ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'', who learns that he was Chosen by the Eight Spells to carry one of them around in his head. Not because he's actually expected to do anything heroic or impressive, but because he's a coward who's good as escaping danger, so can at least be expected to ''survive'' until the spell is needed.
** {{Subverted|Trope}} by Carrot. From the first book he appeared in (''Literature/GuardsGuards''), it has been obvious that he was the Chosen One to be king of Ankh-Morpork: he's pure of heart, he has a cool sword, etc. However, even though later books have made it obvious that Vimes, Vetinari, Carrot, and other members of the Watch know he is the Chosen One, Carrot prefers to remain in the Watch. Part of it is that what he's destined ''for'' is to restore the monarchy, and he thinks the current administration is better.
** Brutha ''Literature/SmallGods''. The trick here is that Brutha doesn't want to become the prophet, but is actually the OnlyOne that believes in Om...
** Also {{subverted|Trope}} in the later Discworld novel ''Literature/GoingPostal'', in which Moist von Lipwig is the Chosen One simply because he's the One ''who happens to be available''. "At a time like this, any One will do!"
* In ''The Oaken Throne'', a prequel to Robin Jarvis' ''Literature/DeptfordMice'' trilogy, a Silver Acorn pendant literally falls into the paws of a squirrelmaiden named Ysabelle. It is the symbol of office for the squirrel monarchs known as Starwives, and she is thus chosen as the successor to the throne.
* There are ''two'' chosen ones in Literature/{{Phenomena}}, [[MagicKnight Alk]] [[BrotherSisterTeam and]] [[AnIcePerson Ilke]].
* ''Literature/TimeOutOfTime'': Timothy is the Filidh, which are a people who's job is to preserve all legends and folklore in the world, as well as to be king of the Travelers' Market.
* In the ''[[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]]'' fantasy series, Rand al'Thor is chosen by destiny to be Dragon Reborn. The previous Dragon was Lews Therin Telamon/Kinslayer. (The series hasn't said anything on who chose ''him'', but, what with time being a wheel and all that...)
** It's also a deconstruction. It's not just the taint that's making him insane, it's the knowledge that all of existence rests on his shoulders, while foolish people are fighting their savior at every turn. [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne That much stress would drive anyone mad]].
** All the other main characters have their own role to play in prophecy, so he really shouldn't feel so alone. Though his role is more central, and he is regarded as the chosen one of several different prophecies, of whom the supporters of one still see little reason to cooperate with other people despite having the same chosen one.
* In Creator/LRonHubbard's ''Literature/BattlefieldEarth'', Johnny Goodboy Tyler is recognized as ''the one'', the individual who almost single handedly defeated an empire of billions of beings on thousands of planets. He is even introduced to the alien ambassadors as a ''force majeure'', an unpredictable and unstoppable factor whose coming changes the whole [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]].
* ''Literature/UnLunDun'' by China Miéville Double Subverts this and then goes on to make a new trope based off it. A book of prophecies says that Zanna is supposed to be the Shwazzy, the one who will save the world from Smog. When Zanna is injured, her friend Deeba must take up the fight against Smog, even though she's in the prophecies as the PluckyComicRelief. Deeba is later christened "the Unchosen One" ([[TheUnchosenOne which is now its own trope.]])
* Played with in ''Literature/GoodOmens'' by Creator/NeilGaiman and Creator/TerryPratchett. First, the Antichrist (who is the Chosen One in this case) is [[spoiler: accidentally SwitchedAtBirth one too many times, leaving the forces of Heaven and Hell to prepare the wrong boy for Armageddon for 11 years.]] Second, [[spoiler: when they both finally track the real Antichrist down, he reveals he doesn't want to destroy the world or TakeOverTheWorld, so he convinces both sides to forget the whole thing.]] There are strong hints that the PowersThatBe [[GambitRoulette intended all of this to happen from the start.]]
* Played with ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'' where there is a prophecy [[TheMagicComesBack about the two bringing magic back to England]] and they think of themselves as chosen ones, restoring magic to its peak, except that they don't match the archetype at all (especially Norrell). Additionally, their skills pale in comparison to those of earlier magicians, and in essence, they are pawns setting events in motion to hasten [[spoiler:the Raven King]].
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' and ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', Garion (or Belgarion, his adult name) is the Chosen One ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his actual prophetic title]]) who has to save the universe, kill the bad god, raise the new one, and keep control of his wife. And that is no mean feat. Then he has to do it all again in the sequel series.
** This series takes this trope quite literally. The [[spoiler:voice in Belgarion's head tells him that the world's ''reason for existence'' is to give him a place to stand when he achieves a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.]]
** Slight subversion with the Prophecy of Light: while Garion technically is the main Chosen One, the prophecy makes use of several others for various reasons. Driven home when the Prophecy itself informs Garion that what's happening with two of the others is, quite frankly, none of his business.
* George R.R. Martin's ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series seems littered with people who believe they are or who might be the Chosen One. So far, Prince Rhaegar, Rhaegar's children, Stannis Baratheon, and Queen Daenerys have all declared themselves or been declared by others to fit the prophecy. Fans also name Bran and Jon as possible candidates based on everything from their actions to possible parentage.
** In a subversion of the trope, Daenerys and Khal Drogo's son is prophesied to be 'the stallion who mounts the world', who will unite the Dothraki tribes and lead them to domination over the eastern continent. However, instead the child is killed in childbirth by [[strike: an evil witch]] a woman who wanted revenge on Drogo for the destruction of her village and the prophecy is thwarted.
** One could argue the prophecy was meant for Drogon.
** There are two possible Chosen Ones. There is more frequently mentioned "The Prince that Was Promised" and Azor Ahai. These may be different names for the same savior, or it may be that they are each the Chosen One for a different task.
* In ''[[Literature/BooksOfPellinor The Naming]]'' by Alison Croggon, Maerad is specifically mentioned in the dream of a seer centuries ago and is foretold to destroy the Nameless One in his greatest uprising of evilness and save the world. She's also known as The One, The Fated One, and The Foretold. The series is not known for subtlety.
* Torak in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness''. It's not exactly easy for him, but it does get him a [[NonHumanSidekick wolf friend]].
* Sparhawk in ''Literature/TheElenium'' trilogy by Creator/DavidEddings is the one [[spoiler:destined to wield the mystical sapphire rose known as the Bhelliom. Eventually, this is explained by the fact that the Bhelliom, centuries back, actually spawned a human offspring, from whom Sparhawk is descended. Sparhawk is, essentially, a minor god and never knew it.]] This is about the ''only'' thing he's destined to do, [[spoiler:because he's Anakha, the Man without a Destiny -- a trait that scares gods because, unlike any other person ''with'' a destiny, they can't predict what he's going to do from one moment to the next.]]
%%* A lot of the ''Literature/EaCycle'' revolves around finding the Chosen One.
* In the Creator/DavidDrake military SF series ''Literature/TheGeneralSeries'', Raj Whitehall is 'Chosen' by an ancient AI to save Human civilization on the planet Bellevue, while his friend Thom Poplanich is chosen by the same AI for a related role that results in Thom being offscreen practically the entire series -- [[spoiler: it turns out to be handling the ''governance'' aspects of saving Human civilization on Bellevue once Raj has set the stage through military acumen]]. Followed up with several other Chosen, in several sequel series.
* Creator/DavidDrake's ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'': The eponymous general (who formed, along with the 5th century AD Roman Empire he served in RealLife, the historical basis of ''Creator/TheGeneralSeries'') being chosen by Aide.
* In the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', there are several possible 'Chosen Ones', such as the deathless Rhulad Sengar who is chosen by the Crippled God to be the ruler of his mortal empire (but is then brutally and unexpectedly dispatched by Karsa Orlong using loopholes in the laws of magic). A better match may be Ganoes Paran, who is chosen to become the 'master of the deck', the arbiter of who will be chosen for godhood, for fairly obscure reasons. However, this power is not overused as he is only present in three of the eight published novels so far.
* The Pevensies in Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' are a Chosen Quartet. Shasta/Cor of ''The Horse and His Boy'' is prophesied to be the one to save "Archenland, when she be in the worst danger in which ever she lay".
* Almost every main character in every single series in ''Literature/WarriorCats''. Firestar got to be the Chosen One ''twice''. And in ''Power of Three'', they got special powers, too.
* At the end of Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Ghostmaker'', with the eldar who could have closed the Way dead, Inquisitor Lilith must take his place. The eldar there are struck by her name, which they take as Lileath, and Gaunt points out that her whole life has led there. It merely states, however, that [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane "perhaps" she had been born to do that]].
* In Creator/JamesSwallow's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''The Flight of the Eisenstein'', the [[OldRetainer housecarl]] Kaleb prays over his master, Garro, who revives, convincing Kaleb that the God-Emperor had chosen him. This inspires Kaleb to regard his own actions [[BecauseDestinySaysSo as part of the Emperor's work]] and [[spoiler:to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice his life to save Garro]]. It makes a deep impact on Garro, who, on more than one occasion on their [[BringNewsBack flight]], takes an action in faith that his purpose will bring him through -- including one that he knows, and everyone else knows, will kill them all if it fails.]]
* In Creator/JamesSwallow's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} ''[[Literature/BloodAngels Deus Encarmine]]'', when Arkio picks up the [[BladeOnAStick Spear of Telesto]], he briefly takes on the appearance of the primarch Sanguinius, and all the Blood Angels (even his brother Rafen) regard the miracle as evidence of his status. Shortly thereafter, one of them observes that those who object to this are dying and those who accept are living, which must be an omen, which is the point at which Arkio [[BlessedWithSuck says he doesn't want it.]] But he is talked into carrying on, with all his doubts.
** In ''Deus Sanguinius'', both Arkio and Rafen foresee a CainAndAbel confrontation between them. When Arkio's forces confront those under Mephiston, CombatByChampion is proposed. When Mephiston is about to face him, Rafen shouts from among Arkio's men that he will do it. Mephiston reads his mind and discovers that he is not only [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure]] but has been touched by a vision, and he stands aside to let Rafen take the challenge.
* One of the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' novels puts a strange twist on this trope: only at the very end of the novel, right after the BigBad has been defeated, do the viewpoint characters learn that one of them had always been the Chosen One for that particular battle, and was the only person throughout all the timelines of all the universes who could have possibly pulled it off.
* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}''- the trope is [[Literature/DuneMessiah thoroughly deconstructed]] with Paul Atreides and [[Literature/GodEmperorOfDune his son Leto]]. Played straight with [[spoiler: Duncan Idaho]] in [[Literature/SandwormsOfDune the final book]].
** Not quite played straight in fact, since he was chosen by [[spoiler: the Tleilaxu]] - and it doesn't ''quite'' work out as planned.
* In ''Literature/KeysToTheKingdom'' by Garth Nix, Arthur Penhaligon is designated "Heir to the House" by Mister Monday, because he was supposed to die shortly thereafter, in an attempt to keep the Will at bay. Ironically, this was suggested by the Will itself, and led to Arthur becoming a major threat to the Trustees of the House.
* ''Literature/TheBlackCompany'' decides to protect one after their employer turns on them. [[spoiler: In this case she's the reincarnation of The White Rose, a hero who is supposedly able to defeat The Lady. The original was responsible for [[SealedEvilInACan putting The Lady in the can]] along with her husband and sorcerers. It's implied that she was able to do this because she nullifies all magic around her.]]
* Dexterity Jones and to some extent Zandakar in Karen Miller's ''Literature/GodspeakerTrilogy''. Rhian also displays elements of this trope as she is mentioned by [[SpiritAdvisor Hettie]].
* In ''Literature/TheGiver'', Jonas is chosen by his society to be the new Receiver of Memory, a very revered position. Halfway through the book he decides that pulling a ScrewDestiny will work for the better of society in the long run.
* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Zaphod Beebelbrox is placed in the Total Perspective Vortex -- a machine that tells whoever's inside it exactly how important they are in relation to the universe. This is mainly used as a form of execution, as everyone placed inside it so far has gone insane. However, Zaphod walks (not falls) out triumphant -- he really is (as he thinks) the most important person in the universe! [[spoiler:Thing is, this gets subverted since he is unknowingly actually in a parallel universe created specifically for the purpose of him surviving the Total Perspective Vortex -- thus since the universe was created just for him, he is by default the most important person in it. [[RuleOfCool He then pulls a spaceship out of his pocket and travels through time.]] ]]
* Played with in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/TrickstersDuet''. Aly is the chosen instrument of Kyprioth the {{Trickster God}} (and, naturally, pretends to be chosen of the God of War--everyone who bought this kicks themselves when the truth is revealed, since she's a ''spy''). She's there to put the main Chosen One, a girl descended from two royal lines, on the throne, and is aided by a bunch of other figures chosen for their skills (The Warrior, The Strong One, The Wise One, etc). The rebellion and the oppressed people they represent are all very excited to put the beautiful, passionate and fair Sarai on the throne, since she fits the prophecy, even though she's more hot-headed then they'd like. [[spoiler: She instead leaves the country to get married and not have to deal with ugliness of its politics. Everybody initially freaks the hell out until they remember that her younger, quieter sister ''also'' fits the prophecy...]]
* Subverted in ''Literature/WarAndPeace'', where Pierre Bezukhov determines based on the gematria of his name that he is meant to save humanity by assassinating the anti-Christ Napoleon. Instead, he is captured for an unrelated act and forced-marched across most of Russia, where he learns the true meaning of his life.
* Played with in many, ''many'' ways before all is through by the prophecy of the Hero of Ages in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}''. [[spoiler: The Hero turns out to be [[BadassBookworm Sazed]]. Vin, the actual main character, is also a Chosen One of sorts, but isn't the Hero and wasn't part of prophecy.]]
* Eragon of the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' seems to be a Chosen One of sorts. Though he wasn't actually named in prophecy, he was chosen by the dragon Saphira to be her rider during the war between the Varden and the Empire. Since he is the only Dragon Rider not on the side of the Empire, the factions aligned with the Varden often laud him as their "only hope" to defeat Galbatorix, as they will fail without him. Not that they're very happy about this, given that [[WhatTheHellHero he tends to ignore orders, lacks common sense, and tried to seduce one of their leadership figures.]] The dwarves are implied to conceal deep grudges against him. Eragon himself [[ResignedToTheCall doesn't much like his position either]].
* Morgon of ''Literature/TheRiddleMasterTrilogy'' can't seem to get a break. The man just wants to farm, but no. Rather he agrees to take a simple journey to answer a dark Riddle (i.e. a prophecy) about the stars on his forehead, which ends up sending him halfway across the continent a few times, and getting him attacked by mysterious shape-shifters.
* ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'':
** Zoey, who is already on the fast track to High Priestessdom.
** Possibly Stevie Rae as well, in a different way.
* ''Literature/TheProphecyOfTheStones'' names four significant people who will play a part in freeing the land. Three of them are girls with specific tasks, who end up getting kicked out of their homes because of the prophecy and questing around the land to figure out what the prophecy means. The fourth is actually called The Chosen One and is tasked with [[SupportingLeader leading the forces of good]] in the final battle.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' is a deconstruction of this trope, with Covenant being quite possibly the worst chosen one ever. A first class JerkAss, buries the needle on the cynical side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, christens himself "The Unbeliever" because he refuses to believe the world he is supposed to save is real, and within in his first day in said world crosses a major MoralEventHorizon by [[spoiler: raping a 16 year old girl]].
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' includes a prophecy that says there will be a chosen one that will decide the fate of the gods. No pressure. There is one catch, however. They don't know who it is. All they know is that it is the next child of The Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon or Hades) that turns 16. [[spoiler: Eventually it showed that Percy Jackson was the chosen one.]]
** Another, more tragic example, is [[spoiler: Luke Castallen, who was always fated to betray the gods and serve Kronos, and to [[RedemptionEqualsDeath finally]] perform a HeroicSacrifice to destroy Kronos.]]
* ''Literature/OneRoseTrilogy'''s Kallista Varyl makes the mistake of offering [[LowestCosmicDenominator the One]] anything she wants if she'll save a city under attack. Turns out, the One wants Kallista to take care of a few things...
* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', four of the six main characters are chosen by the Ellimist, at least according to the Crayak. (Jake and Rachel were the odd ones out.)
** Even among those chosen four, however, Tobias stands out. The Ellimist goes to great lengths to ensure his birth, manipulating Elfangor's life in such a way that he would sire Tobias and then be separated from him. He then targets Tobias specifically to save a pair of Hork-Bajir, telling him he is 'a point on which a timeline may turn'. Strangely, the Ellimist's high prediction never seems to go anywhere: while Tobias succeeds in saving the Hork-Bajir, his role in the rest of the series is minimal and ultimately he even opposes the strategy which ends up winning the war.
*** Bear in mind that the Ellimist and Crayak are playing a LongGame on a universal scale in time frame of eons -- who's to say that Tobias' actions were ever meant to have an ''immediate'' effect? (Remember the Iskroot?)
* Used in ''TheLegendOfPhoenixMountain'', where there are two Chosen Ones. {{Discussed}} every time someone refers to them as one.
* Subverted in the third Literature/MatthewSwift book, ''The Neon Court''. The Neon Court and the Tribe spend most of the book preparing to go to war over a prophesied Chosen One who's supposed to give victory to whichever side she chooses. [[spoiler: Except the prophecy was a lie. The two groups are being set up by a third party to go to war and wipe each other out, along with the poor girl who was singled out as the supposed Chosen One.]]
* In ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'', the true name of Alfred Montbank is Coren, which is the Sartan word for "Chosen" or "To Choose". It's apparently a very common name among Sartan, as parents hope their child will be chosen for some great destiny. Alfred comes to hate his name when sheer chance results in him being chosen to be the only survivor of the Sartan community on Arianus.
* Played straight with the Three Hunters and the Lord of the Vampaneze in ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan''.
* In ''Literature/TheStand'', Mother Abigail is the one chosen by God to lead the side of good in Boulder.
* Coryn, in ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'' fits this. So do Soren and probably Hoole himself. At the time of Hoole's death, the Ember was hidden, and it was foretold a barn owl would come to be the next to retrieve the ember. This was Coryn. But it was also said there would be "another king, un-embered, but Glaux blessed". This is Soren.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''[[Literature/TimePatrol Brave to Be a King]]'', Manse prevents an infanticide by telling the king that, among other things, that the child is favored of the gods.
* Jaenelle Angelline from the ''Literature/BlackJewels'' Trilogy is Witch, a being born from the dreams of the people of her and other worlds to the end the corruption of two powerful witches. As such, she has god-like powers which surpass all others.
* ''Literature/LightAndDarkTheAwakeningOfTheMageknight'': [[spoiler: Danny]] who is revealed to be the Mageknight prophesied to end the war between Order of Light and the Shadows in the Light's favor.
* Sasha Hunter in ''Literature/GreekNinja'' is chosen by fate to protect the world from the evil powers approaching it due to [[spoiler: her being the reincarnation of Eli]]. Also Daichi, who is the Legacy of Hiroyuki and according to the prophecy from Pythia, the task Sasha is trying to carry out cannot be accomplished without him.
* ''Dagger-Star'' by Elizabeth Vaughan had a prophecy that only a person with a dagger-shaped birthmark can free the land of Palins from its tyrant and become its rightful ruler. It turns out that a lot of people have this birthmark, but most of them are mere children, [[spoiler: and the tyrant, thinking that the prophecy only referred to one person, captured a woman with this birthmark and made her a SexSlave until her mind broke]]. The ActionGirl Red Gloves, not really caring about the prophecy, defeats the tyrant (being a NayTheist, Red Gloves says that she won because she was a better fighter, not because of some prophecy), then [[PassingTheTorch retires and lets another girl with the birthmark named Gloriana become the Queen]].
* When Rook is in jail at the beginning of [[Literature/AstralCafe In a Beginning]] he remembers being called to be a Chosen One. As the series progresses, there are hints that it did not go well for him. [[spoiler: Especially since after that he was chained to a wall for five years fighting a never ending battle.]]
* Lampshaded and subverted thoroughly with Shan's story in ''Literature/ChroniclesOfMagravandias''. Shan was actually Taropat's back-up choice since the real chosen one was killed by the Magravandians. Taropat decided to ScrewDestiny and create a new hero to defeat Magravandias. Further taken apart by Shan ultimately not being the hero of the story anyway, even if he plays a key role; he is the Warrior, not the King.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions'', Martinus speculates that Holger was drawn back to the world where he found himself by this. Holger doesn't like it; he feels free.
* In ''Literature/WrongTimeForDragons'' by Creator/SergeyLukyanenko and Creator/NickPerumov, the protagonist is an everyman from our world who ends up in a fantasy setting in the "middle" world (between our non-magical world and a world where magic is everywhere) prophesied to be the next Dragon Slayer and protect the "middle" world from another invasion by the Dragons of the magic world. However, he faces opposition from those who wish to see the Dragons win. In a twist, one of the people opposing him is the previous Dragon Slayer, who stopped the previous invasion by killing the lead Dragon, raping his mate and banishing her to the non-magic world. She ended up [[spoiler:being the protagonist's grandmother, meaning he's the grandson of a Dragon and a Dragon Slayer.]]
* In the ''[[Literature/NightWatchSeries Watch]]'' books by Creator/SergeyLukyanenko, Anton and Svetlana's daughter is supposed to be the next messiah, although the ending of the second book makes it unclear as to whether she will be the actual messiah or simply an extremely-powerful Other. As of the sixth novel, we're still not sure, although it's claimed that she has the power to [[spoiler:destroy Twilight itself by killing the Tiger, its manifestation, eliminating magic from the world.]]
* In ''Literature/FateOfTheJedi'', several people see visions of Allana Djo Solo (Han Solo and Leia Organa's granddaughter, Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka Djo's daughter) sitting on the Throne of Balance. Many people interpret this to mean Allana is destined to become a "Jedi Queen" who will rule the galaxy. Several factions either try to help her or assassinate her.
* The Gatekeepers from ''Literature/ThePowerOfFive''.
* Kajiya and all the magiks in Literature/DestinedToLead , Kajiya being a rare case where her 'chosen one' status is revoked.
* In Literature/TheTomeOfBill there are two. Bill is the chosen one of the vampire nation, being the legendary Freewill, while [[spoiler: Sheila]] is his destined archenemy, the Icon.
* In ''[[Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore Voices]]'', [[spoiler:Memer]] is chosen to read and speak the prophecies of the Oracle when it's revived. It's a little overwhelming.
* In ''Literature/TheFallen'', Aaron Corbett finds out on his 18th birthday that he is a HalfHumanHybrid called a Nephilim, the son of a FallenAngel and a human mother. Moreso, he is a special Nephilim prophesied long ago to someday redeem the fallen angels and return them to Heaven. Like all fallen angels and Nephilim, he is being hunted by the Powers, a group of dedicated angels who consider it their divine mission to erase the stain of the angel rebellion by killing all the rebels and their offspring. In the last part of the mini-series, Aaron finds out that his father is [[spoiler:[[TheDevil Lucifer]] Morningstar]], who wants to be redeemed and [[spoiler:start another war against the Creator]]. Like all the angels and Nephilim, Aaron can speak any language (including animals), manifest and use flaming swords, throw fireballs, and fly on wings. He also has the unique power of Redeeming, which can send the soul of any fallen angel who truly wishes redemption back to Heaven.
* Zilpha Keatley Snyder's [[Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy Green-sky]] is led by the Ol-zhaan, the supreme judges, priests, healers and guardians of the Kindar. Once a year, two teenagers are Chosen from among that year's school graduates. During the next year The Chosen are paraded around the cities and treated like fledgling gods. Most get hooked on the adulation. But Raamo doesn't, and this is where the story really starts.
* Unusually for this trope, the process of finding and recruiting the very few people capable of MentalTimeTravel in Jack Finney's novel ''Literature/TimeAndAgain'' is handled rationally. The US government systematically trawls through army records.]
* In ''Literature/ABadDayForVoodoo'', [[spoiler: Esmeralda, the maker of the voodoo dolls, explains to [[AntiHero Tyler]] and [[TheSmartGuy Kelley]] that [[TheDitz Adam]] is this, and will one day defeat the hobgoblins. When Kelley questions this, she explains that only the chosen one could have made the voodoo dolls so powerful.]]
* Averted in the ''Literature/AhrimanTrilogy.'' Gabriel Bell was supposed to be the one, but he dies in chapter 1. This leaves the middle child Simon, the one no one ever expected anything of, to pick up the mantle.
* In ''Literature/TheInitiateBrother'', the main religion believes that there will eventually come a great Teacher. When the sign spoken of in prophecy occurs, people naturally start looking for him, and some people wonder if it's the protagonist, Shuyun - including Shuyun himself. Eventually, it turns out that he isn't - it's another character who has been mentioned throughout the story but not seen until the very end. Shuyun ''is'', however, the person who will bring the Teacher's work to the world.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has so far left the nature of 'starborn' [[VaguenessIsComing ambiguous]]. However, because the protagonist is a starborn, fans often assume that they are Chosen Ones.
* ''Literature/BlowingUpTheMovies'': The ''Franchise/StarWars'' essay focuses on this.
* In Vasiliy Golovachev's ''The Envoy'', the protagonist accidentally becomes a witness to the ambush of the previous Envoy, whose task is to gather the most powerful wizards in the [[TheMultiverse Worldfan]] in order to prevent [[TheDevil Lucifer]]'s return. The protagonist ends up touching the strange dying man, and later notices a tattoo of sorts forming on his shoulder. His best friend tells him that he is the new Envoy and must finish the task. [[spoiler:In fact, he ends up doing a lot more than just finding and gathering the wizards, becoming the one who actually stops the BigBad]]. In the sequel ''The Deliverer'', his son is prophesied to be the new savior of the Worldfan, so the former protagonist recruits a retired special forces operative to serve as his son's protector. [[spoiler:In the end, the protector is revealed to have been the true Deliverer]].
* ''Literature/TheSilerianTrilogy'': Josarian, the Firebringer. Armian was believed to be this, but turned out not to be, and he didn't want to throw himself into a volcano to prove it as required. [[spoiler: Ronall]], of all people, is the sea king, prophesied as the sea folk's monarch and consort to their goddess.
* Subverted in ''Literature/StrangerAndStranger''. [[spoiler:When Ainslee learns that she is being possessed by vengeful spirits, she asks Shawna if that means the spirits where looking for her. Shawna says they were just looking for the best host.]] It's more a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time than being destined or the only option.
* In the [[Literature/AeonLegionLabyrinth Aeon Legion]] universe, there are those with a special connection to destiny called Qadar. [[HeroicSacrifice They have a bad habit of dying though]], usually to stop some threat from destroying history.
* ''Literature/SecondApocalypse'': A scion the Anisurimbor royal family is prophesied to return at the end of the world to fight the Consult and defeat the second coming of the No-God. The Mandate await his coming, though the rest of the world laughs at them for their perceived superstitions. Anisurimbor Kellhus just so happens to be a descendant of that line, and he does in fact seize control of the vast majority of the continent with his Dunyain training, with the intention of defeating the Consult and slaying the No-God.
* Deconstructed in ''A Girl Of Fire and Thorns''. Godstone bearers are chosen to perform a great act of service for God. However, this could conceivably be any act, from digging a well to painting flowers, seemingly with no rhyme or reason. [[spoiler:By the end of the first book, several objects from previous bearers are used to forge an amulet to defeat the enemy mages.]] Scripture and prophecy regarding the bearers are so vague that they're basically useless, and Elisa eventually realizes that she has no way of knowing if she fulfilled prophecy or not. [[spoiler: In the end, despite Elisa having made peace with Invierne, defeated the deciregi, found the ''zafira'', and made countless invaluable discoveries concerning magic,God, and their peoples, it turns out the great destiny she was selected for was finding a random oasis. This prompts Elisa to realize that bearers are simply the [[ForWantOfANail nails]] that ensure {{Contrived Coincidence}}s for a much bigger plan, and she decides to compile everything she knows to be passed on to the next bearer.]]
* In ''Literature/MagicForLiars'', one student of the [[WizardingSchool Osthorne Academy of Young Mages]], Dylan [=DeCambrey=], believes that he's the Chosen One due to a Prophecy given to his family. [[spoiler:It turns out, however, that it's his ''half-sister'', Alexandria, who is the Chosen One.]]
* Deconstructed in Creator/LyndonHardy's ''Master of Five Magics'': Alodar starts out ''wanting'' to be TheChosenOne whom the queen will single out as royal hero and spouse, and his path from one mentor and clue to another ''seems'' to be leading him to some great destiny implied by the novel's very title. Except the woman he finds himself truly attracted to, and vice versa, is Lady Aeriel rather than the queen, and [[spoiler: the series of clues he follows wasn't laid out because anyone ''predicted'' a Chosen One would follow them someday, but because Handar and his fellow wizards knew that if anyone '''but''' someone skilled in all five branches of magic tried to confront a demon prince, they'd get squashed like a bug. Alodar wasn't so much a Chosen One as a Let's-Hope-Like-Hell-''Somebody''-Turns-Up-Who-Can-Handle-This One.]]
* ''Literature/TheTravelersGate'': Alin is Eliadel, a natural-born Traveler of Elysia, the most powerful of [[ElementalPlane Territories]]. He is central to an ancient prophecy stating that he will stop the human sacrifices, kill the king of Damasca, and throw open the gates of Heaven. It doesn't take long for this to give him a swelled head. [[spoiler:It takes him much longer to wonder if any of these things he's prophesized to do are actually ''good'']].
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/FoundationsEdge'': Golan Trevize is chosen [[spoiler:by Gaia, to determine the fate of humanity]], because he makes good decisions instinctively. He is, every so often, ''certain'', and these decisions are always correct. [[spoiler:To be more precise, Gaia manipulated the Second Foundation to manipulate the First Foundation to send Trevize away with a specially-made ship so that he could play [[KingmakerScenario kingmaker]] in the three-way MexicanStandoff that Gaia was arranging near Sayshell.]]
* ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'': After surviving his BungledSuicide and getting his powers, [[TheAtoner Daylen]] decides that [[SentientCosmicForce the Light]] must want him for this purpose, and ([[MoodSwinger briefly]]) feels a new sense of optimism as he begins his RedemptionQuest. [[spoiler: By the end of the book, Ahrek and Lyrah both agree that this is the case--though obviously with [[DidntSeeThatcoming a great dual of incredulity]] on Lyrah's part.]]
* ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasantResurrection'' introduces chosen one, Augur Darkly. In a twist, it's his brother, Omen, who becomes a major character.
* In ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'' Atreyu is the Chosen One for finding the cure for the Childlike Empress which will stop The Nothing.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** The title character Buffy Summers -- at least until the end of season one where it becomes subverted when Buffy was drowned and quickly resuscitated. She is replaced by Kendra Young, then Faith Lehane, but for all intents and purposes, Buffy is still the Slayer. All Slayers before Buffy (Nikki Wood, the First Slayer, etc) play this trope straight. They rarely live to see their 20s, and tend to be ''chosen'' when they're extremely young, at 15-17 if they're exceptionally lucky, and do not get discovered by the Watcher's Council particularly quickly (as appears to be the case with both Buffy and Faith and many of the Potential Slayers during season 7, but not the case with Kendra, who gets an even shorter end of the stick: she is abandoned by her parents and raised by her Watcher). The "One" part of the Chosen One is very literal - "One girl in all the world." (At least until the end of Season One)
*** It is indicated towards the end of the series that the replacement slayers are already lined up to take over when their predecessor dies, in significant numbers too. Apparently some get activated a little too early, maybe the Prophecy is incapable of distinguishing when a Slayer is going to be BackFromTheDead. [[spoiler:In the end of the series, the Good Guys do some magic to speed along the "Choosing" of the potential Slayers, essentially creating an army of girls with their Slayer activated.]]
*** Creator/JossWhedon has hinted that despite activating all the potential Slayers, the "line of the Slayers" still runs through Faith Lehane and ''only'' through Faith Lehane, as she is the one-and-only Chosen One. He further has hinted that while the mass activation of the Slayers turned every potential alive at that point in time into a Slayer, no further Slayers will be activated until and unless Faith dies, at which point the Slayer line will continue with a Potential born ''after'' the mass activation.
** The Anointed One was also an intended chosen one, but happened to be in the form of a child. He got [[DroppedABridgeOnHim killed]] by a bigger and older vampire who ran out of patience.
** Funnily enough, despite being the one to stand alone against the forces of darkness, there are plenty of characters out there who make the Slayer look pathetic in comparison. Doesn't even have to be a villain, considering Willow is obviously so much more powerful than Buffy in the end. More often than not, Buffy has to rely on [[TrueCompanions her team's help]] or [[GuileHero some quick thinking]] to defeat any given villain. Like using an anti-tank rocket launcher (stolen by [[LethalJokeCharacter Xander]]) to take out The Judge, a demon who could kill her by touching her.
*** This is implied to be why Buffy has such a long lifespan compared to other Slayers-although individually quite powerful, Slayers who fight alone tend to die more quickly. Buffy's friends and their diverse skills often give the a Chosen One a much needed edge in the war of darkness.
** Sineya could be considered the ultimate chosen one as Slayers go, since she was the First Slayer, the root of all those chosen ones.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':
** The sisters are referred to as the Chosen ''Ones''.
** Wyatt Halliwell, Piper's firstborn son, is also known as the Chosen One, and is worthy of wielding Excalibur.
** An early episode has a young boy who was the only being who could wield an evil witch's wand for the side of good, as well as kill her. He was recognized as such due to the fact that he was the seventh son of a seventh son.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E1TheMasqueOfMandragora The Masque Of Mandragora]]", Hieronymous grows certain that he is specially chosen.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** The faith of the Lord of Light believes in a prophesied champion who will stand against the darkness. Melisandre believes she has found him in Stannis Baratheon.
** The ''dosh khaleen'' prophesied that Daenerys and Drogo's son would be "The Stallion Who Mounts the World," the legendary unifier of the Dothraki who will conquer the world.
** Bran is destined to be the only person who can truly defeat the White Walkers and the Night's King. When he first meets the Three-Eyed-Raven the raven tells Bran that he has been waiting for him to arrive for a thousand years. By the halfway point of Season 6, Bran fully inherits the powers of the Three-Eyed-Raven and becomes his successor and his uncle Benjen tells Bran that when the Night's King finally invades Westeros, Bran will be the one to stand against him.
*** If the prophecies of the Prince That Was Promised are true and apply to his half-brother Jon Snow, then Bran may not face him alone. In a thematic parallel, Bran's visions of Jon's [[spoiler:true origins (revealing Jon to be Bran's cousin as he is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rheagar Targaryen) and his power to oppose the Night's King may make Bran the Merlin to Jon's Arthur.]]
** Melisandre's trying to sell this explanation to Gendry for why she abducted him. Then again, she was (ostensibly) instructed by R'hllor to find him and bring him back to Dragonstone.
** [[spoiler:While they all played a part, in the end it was Arya Stark who landed the killing blow on the Night King, ending the threat of the Army of the Dead and the Long Night.]]
* In ''Series/TheNineLivesOfChloeKing'', the title character was a prophesied 'Chosen One' destined to unite the prides of the cat beings called the Mai, of which she is one.
* Locke on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' appears to have been chosen for a special role. We just don't know what the role is or by whom he was chosen. Ben apparently ''used'' to be the chosen one. As he tells Locke, "Destiny is a fickle bitch."
** In an incredibly cruel twist, [[spoiler: it seems his special role, his destiny was to die off Island and return so that Jacob's currently unnamed rival could pose as him and kill Jacob]]...and [[spoiler:despite being said to be chosen by Jacob, he never even ''met'' the '''real''' Jacob while alive, implying that maybe the whole "chosen one" thing was just crap thought up by Jacob's nemesis (whose current FanNickname is Esau) so that he could return to life.]]
** It now turns out that [[spoiler:he was already one of a number of people selected by Jacob as candidates to succeed him. Other candidates include Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sawyer, and "Kwon" (either Sun or Jin).]]
* In ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' both Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin are chosen ones on opposing sides, following in a long line of both good and evil avatars. Also, [[spoiler: Sofie]] is revealed to be the final avatar late in the series.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Clark Kent in is referred to as a sort of 'chosen one' by the local Indian tribe, who call him 'Naman', the prophesied warrior who would destroy his worst enemy, Sagith. In fact this prophecy was [[spoiler:implanted in the tribe (along with metahuman [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] powers) by a Kryptonian visitor centuries ago.]]
** A look into the past reveals that Jor-El was once aided by Jonathan Kent's father Hiram. Before Jor-El left, Hiram assured him that the Kents would always be there for him if he needed them. Clark tells his parents that he doesn't believe him being sent to Smallville was a coincidence. Jor-El chose the Kents.
* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' definitely starts like this, with several (apparently) normal teenagers being selected to be defenders of Earth.
** Used to somewhat nebulous effect in ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy.'' That season's rangers are "chosen" because they were the only ones able to pull five legendary swords free from the ground, though by what or what exactly being "chosen" rates is unclear. In one episode villain Furio is unable to enter a cave to claim a legendary power source because he isn't "chosen" so they have to trick the rangers to go in and get it for them. But then you have the guy who pulled the sword meant for the red ranger never even getting to use it and passing it on to his younger brother, who has no problem becoming the red ranger in his place. It seems to be a very fluid condition.
** Fast forward about 13 years, and we have the prophecy of The Light: a person born from the most powerful sorceress and the most skilled swordsman who is destined to defeat the forces of darkness. ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' played this trope completely straight. [[spoiler:The Light is revealed to be Nick, the series's red ranger, who is the long-lost son of TheMentor Udonna and her, though unknown at the time, BrainwashedAndCrazy husband Leanbow a.k.a. Koragg.]]
* In ''Series/BabylonFive'' there is not just 'One' Chosen One but three of them! Or, alternately (and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything significantly]]), one with three parts (as Zathras puts it, The-One-Who-Was, The-One-Who-Is, and The-One-Who-Will-Be).
** The trio of Chosen Ones was probably (at least partially) a {{Retcon}} to explain how the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute could replace the previous Chosen One.
*** {{Retcon}} doesn't even begin to describe B5. JM Straczynski practically deserves to be listed under the CrazyPrepared trope for his contingency planning. From the very beginning, ''every single major character'', in ''all five seasons'' had an "out" written into the story so that they could be removed without affecting the storyline, and indeed, could be reintroduced later if necessary.
*** And he specifically stated in interviews that it was intentional to remove Sinclair (a popular character on B5) during the height of the series. Straczynski designed the show to have a beginning, a middle, and an end (plus 20,000 contingency plans) unlike most shows. But Sinclair leaving at the end of the first season (rather than sometime in Season 2 or 3) and coming back in later seasons was not a contingency plan - it was forced by actor Michael O'Hare's mental health issues (he had schizophrenia; his paranoid delusions weren't helped by the fact that his character was having less-paranoid delusions, as well). This led to JMS bullshitting for several years about how he had "realized Sinclair's arc had played out too quickly" and the character needed to be written out for story reasons; in reality, he had promised O'Hare to keep the circumstances of his departure from the show a secret until O'Hare died (JMS revealed it in May 2013, O'Hare having passed the previous September).
** The trope is also subverted in "Comes the Inquisitor." During this episode, the Inquisitor (on behalf of the Vorlons) tortures Delenn and Sheridan until they both proclaim that they're nothing special, that if they're killed others will just take their places, and that they most likely will die pointlessly and without glory.
*** That is revealed to be true. Sheridan [[spoiler:[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends]] and leaves beyond the Rim]], while Delenn [[spoiler:dies of old age.]]
* The new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' is swimming with them.
** Dr. Gaius Baltar is 'chosen' by the hallucinatory vision of the Cylon Number Six (which vision is usually called "Head-Six") to serve the One True God, and she manipulates him to that end over the course of the entire run of the series, from scientist to political leader to champion of the downtrodden underclass to religious icon. She actually calls him 'the chosen one' on several occasions. Interestingly, no matter what happens, the things Baltar must do as the chosen one also get him laid--and even more interestingly, "Head-Six" is eventually shown to be an actual angel of God (although she doesn't especially care to be called an angel, and God isn't particularly enamored of that title, either), ''and'' it turns out that this whole time the physical Six model Baltar had had an affair with on Caprica has a "Head-Baltar" who is also an angel. We're not entirely sure what this reminds us of, but it seems like something.
** In the second instance, President Laura Roslin comes to believe that she is the dying leader who will lead the people to Earth, based on her interpretation of ancient religious texts. Her role is questioned when she is cured of her supposedly terminal cancer, and reassessed when she suffers a relapse.
** The third possibility is Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace, who is told early on by the Cylon Leoben that she is important and has a destiny. Unlike the other two, she actively denies it and works against it, before embracing it shortly before her 'death' in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Upon her return, she comes to passionately believe she is now the one destined to lead the human race to Earth, unaware of a Cylon prophecy that she will actually lead the human race to the apocalypse.
** The fourth example (is that a record?) is the Cylon Number Three (D'Anna Biers), who becomes obsessed with seeing the faces of the Final Five and what lies between life and death. She declares herself to be a chosen one who will lead the Cylons into a new age, but instead her hubris kills her and leads to her entire line being boxed. It turns out her experiences were actually more important to furthering Baltar and arguably Starbuck's positions as 'chosen ones' (by putting Baltar in a position where he found his way back to the fleet, and by enabling Starbuck to find Earth).
** Really, when it comes right down to it, ''Battlestar Galactica: Reimagined'' doesn't really have a Chosen One - it has a Chosen FiveManBand, each with a specific purpose in [[spoiler:"God's"]] plan.
*** By comparison, the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' series is a bit more reserved. The Beings of Light, a mysterious race that go around the universe [[WeHelpTheHelpless helping civilizations in distress]] developed an interest in Apollo. They think that the good captain has already done a fine job saving many innocent lives and will continue to do so in the future.
* Captain Dylan Hunt on ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' started out as a normal human (albeit genetically upgraded, which is standard for 90% of human characters in that series), but as seasons wore on he was [[RetCon retconned]] to be a half-human/half-SufficientlyAdvancedAlien of the Master Race, then became the ''Paradine'', spoken of in ancient prophecy, with his own prescient alien seeress by his side. (Trance Gemini, who started out as an (seemingly) innocent [[PerkyFemaleMinion perky alien girl]] with hints of unusual powers, but in later seasons was transformed into a GodModeSue.) [[Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys Hercules]] in Space, indeed.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Sam Winchester is essentially the chosen one of the series. He was chosen to be the vessel for [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. Everything that has happened, including the death of his mother, to Azazel/YED bleeding in his mouth, to the development of Sam's special abilities has led up to the fact that Sam was the one that would eventually destroy the world.
** [[spoiler: Dean Winchester]] as of season 4. Unfortunately, the guy's gone through so much BreakTheCutie trauma by this point, that it's doubtful if he can actually fulfill this role. In season 5 it's revealed that he's the intended vessel of the Archangel Michael, which he [[ScrewDestiny doesn't agree to]].
* Referred to as the "Golden One" in ''Series/KrodMandoonAndTheFlamingSwordOfFire'' because it's [[GenreSavvy "slightly less cliche"]] than the Chosen One.
* The eponymous hero in ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker''.
** He's also ''a'' Seeker. There were others before him, whenever situation was grave enough to warrant one. Each one is implied to have had his own Confessor and a wizard (at least the one before did). Unfortunately, the one before ended up sleeping with his Confessor and going mad after the wizard convinced her to commit suicide. The wizard ended up killing the Seeker with the Sword of Truth and putting an enchantment on his body to keep his spirit out of the underworld. He then hid the truth (claiming that both the Seeker and the Confessor died in the final battle against the enemy) in order to keep the people's faith in the Seeker.
** In the series of books the series is (very) loosely based on, Literature/SwordOfTruth, it is suggested with hints spread out over the different books that the titular sword was actually made for the main character and the whole line of seekers was a tool just to get the function and authority to him.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' deconstructs this with [[TheWoobie River Tam]]. Her exceptional intellect and implied latent [[PsychicPowers psychic ability]] got her "chosen" - to go straight to [[SchoolForScheming the Academy]]. She came out the other end a [[MindRape traumatized]] [[AxeCrazy mental wreck]] who [[ThereAreNoTherapists can't be treated]] and suffers from both schizophrenia and [[PowerIncontinence uncontrolled mind powers.]]
** She does get better in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', though at considerable cost, and plays the trope straighter by leading the gang to a secret of galactic importance... and then saving most of their lives.
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' parodies this in the first sketch of season 3, which features a father telling his son that he's the Chosen One just to get him out of the house.
* ''Series/TheCollector'': [[spoiler: Morgan was God's chosen instrument to discover the cure for Plague, centuries ahead of reality. The Devil successfully distracted him from this role]].
** One episode involves a great spirit periodically guided to an Amerindian tribe, the latest being their needed savior, [[spoiler: whom the Devil also tries to distract from her role.]]
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Emma Swan, the daughter of Literature/SnowWhite and PrinceCharming is prophesied to one day save all of the fairy tale characters trapped by the Evil Queen's curse which has them living out mundane lives in our world with no memory of who they really are, and no chance to reclaim their happy endings on their own. Played with in that the only one in-universe who actually believes this is Henry, Emma's son (at least, on the surface).
** Oddly enough for the idea, is that Emma fulfills her destiny at the end of season 1, but still has a ton of work to do protecting the town now. Justified by Season 6, which reveals that breaking the curse was just part of Emma's destiny. She's also fated to [[FinalBattle face down]] with the curse's original creator, the [[GreaterScopeVillain Black]] [[UltimateEvil Fairy]].
** Also in season six, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Rumple was supposed to be the Savior. [[DeconstructedTrope However,his mother intervened when she read up on the whole prophecy because she didn't want him to die. In the end, she stole his destiny from him, and ironically turned herself into the villain that he was supposed to fight. Even more ironically, Rumple himself turned into one of the show's biggest villains.]]]]
** In the third season it's implied that Henry is also a chosen one, although given his pedigree it shouldn't come as a surprise. [[spoiler: Fulfilled at the end of Season 4, when he becomes the new Author.]]
** A central plot point in Season 7 is the search for the Guardian, a person with a [[IncorruptiblePurePureness totally pure heart]], who can take the powers of the Dark One without being consumed by them, thus putting an end to its evil permanently.
* The title character of ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', who was chosen, we haven't a clue by who exactly, to help Arthur become the king he is destined to be and help him unify Albion.
** Actually, it's Arthur who's the Chosen One. He's just such a Chosen One that fate gave him his own Chosen One to keep him alive and sane throughout being a Chosen One. His wife Guinevere is a Chosen One too, with a destiny so sure that the most powerful healing artifact in the Five Kingdoms could not stop a dream of her becoming queen, because fate had decreed it. In other words, he's such a powerful Chosen One that all the people in his life become {{Chosen One}}s just by being around him.
* Duncan [=MacLeod=] in the ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' TV series. First there's Cassandra's prophecy (not the mythological Cassandra) about a "Highland child born on the winter solstice, who has seen both darkness and light and who will defeat the voice of death" and then there's the whole Ahriman/immortal champion thing. A few fans think that might be what the prophecy meant, rather than referring to Kantos, but it was all still really bad anyway.
* [[spoiler: Vlad Dracula]] from ''Series/YoungDracula'' is the Chosen One, prophesized to bring the vampires out of hiding.
* In ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}'', [[spoiler: Eve, the newborn daughter of George and Nina, is the Chosen One, who is going to save the world from the vampires.]]
** Subverted: [[spoiler: the prophecy is incomplete. Eve is actually responsible for the vampires' survival! It's implied that relying on Eve to save them undermined the humans' resistance and won the battle for the vampires.]]
** It is also said that TheChosenOne has a 'nemesis', marked by a [[spoiler: burn on their arm]]. It's implied to be [[spoiler: Hal]] but turns out to be [[spoiler: Eve herself]].
* Daniel Jackson of ''Series/StargateSG1'' appears to have been considered this by the ascended Ancient Oma. But the others kicked him out of the 'Ascended Fan Club' for being too much of an AllLovingHero and wanting to actually help people when they needed it instead of ignoring them. This aspect seems to have diminished somewhat around Season 7.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Captain Sisko is the Emissary to the Prophets, the Wormhole entities that the Bajorans worship as gods. It takes a little while for the science-loving Sisko to embrace his role as the messiah of another race, but he manages. Sisko later learns that he is actually a Prophet's ''son'': his bio-mom was ''possessed'' by one of the Prophets for months if not years, [[TimeyWimeyBall in order to make sure Benjamin would be born and able to fulfill his destiny]] (when the energy being left her, Sara was not happy to have had her life taken over and ran off, leaving Ben to be raised by his father). Over the course of the series Sisko, in his dual roles as Starfleet officer and Bajoran Emissary, saves Bajor from military and spiritual threats.
* Despite him never being called this, [[spoiler: Hiro]] of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' kind of becomes this when his destiny is to [[spoiler: SaveTheWorld and "kill" Sylar.]]
* Troy Barnes in ''Series/{{Community}}'', whose destiny is to be... the greatest air conditioner repairman ever. Yes, it is apparently SeriousBusiness, for the Truest Repairman will repair Man.
* Nina Martin in ''Series/HouseOfAnubis''. Sarah Frobisher-Smythe, too, as she was the chosen one before Nina was born. Both are descendants of Amneris who were born at a special hour on a special day; July 7th at 7:00 AM, or January 1st at 1:00 AM, respectively. In this series, all it really means is being able to build the Cup, wear the Mask of Anubis, and [[DeadPersonConversation communicate with ghosts.]] The first two abilities are what caused the drama in the first two seasons.
** Joy was ''believed'' to be chosen due to her birthday, but was born at the wrong hour- 7:00 ''PM'', rather than 7:00 ''AM''.
** Eddie Miller too. He is not a chosen one, but is still important as the chosen one's destined protector- the Osirian. He gets his own powers in season 3, specifically visions of the future. [[spoiler: Rufus Zeno is one as well, despite being a villain. [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Actually, this power is what caused it.]]]]
* In ''Series/{{Atlantis}}'', Jason is the Chosen One. We know this because the Oracle makes sure to cryptically mention it OnceAnEpisode. She is somewhat more [[VaguenessIsComing vague]] what he is chosen for.
* ''Series/{{Dominion}}'' is the TV sequel to ''Legion'' (mentioned in the Film section above), and as such is all about Alex, the baby born at that movie's climax, coming into his destiny as humanity's savior. [[RefusalOfTheCall Whether he wants it or not.]]
* In the second ''Series/FirstWave'' episode, Cade finds out that he is predicted by Nostradamus to be the "twice-blessed man" who will [[EitherOrProphecy either die with everyone else or save Earth]] from an AlienInvasion. Cade immediately calls himself "twice-cursed".
-->"On the seventh dawn of the seventh day,\\
A twice-blessed man will roam the fields.\\
Doomed to shadows with his brethren,\\
Or savior to all who walk the ground."
* ''Series/SleepyHollow'': Ichabod realizes pretty quickly that he and Abbie are the two Witnesses of the Apocalypse foretold in the Book of Revelation, and as such are the only ones who can stop [[BigBad Moloch]] from bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* Wonderfully skewered on ''Series/ZNation'' as Murphy is clearly the Chosen One who is the only man to survive a zombie bite and could be the man to save humanity from the plague of the undead. He also happens to be an ex-con, arrogant, self-serving and a total jackass who could care less about the rest of humanity. He just wants a decent meal, often causes even more disasters, and does not seem to care about the people who are dying to keep him alive.
* ''Series/{{Mortified}}'': After listening to a lecture on Buddhism, Taylor becomes convinced that she is the chosen one. However, this turns out to be just another manifestation of her IJustWantToBeSpecial tendencies.
* In ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'', the Sancturary Tree chooses Deet to warn the surface Gelflings of the Darkening that ravages the Caves of Grot. Later, he gives her his ability to see visions and channel energy.

[[folder:Music]]
* Made explicit in the Music/{{Genesis}} song "One for the Vine": "His claim was phrased quite simply...: 'I am he, the chosen one'" and later "'This is he, God's chosen one, who's come to save us from all our oppressors.'"
* The Boy from the Music/{{Kiss}} album ''Music From THE ELDER'', who is addressed in the song "Only You".
* Music/{{Tool}}'s "Rosetta Stoned" is a rant from the a possibly delusional man claiming he was abducted by aliens who told him, "You... are the chosen one. The one who'll deliver the message. A message of hope for those who choose to hear it and a warning for those who do not." The speaker marvels, "Me... the chosen one. They ''chose'' me! And I didn't even graduate outta fuckin' high school!"

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* ''Literature/TheBible'': Jesus Christ means "Jesus the Anointed One". ''Christos'' being Greek for "anointed" (and "chrism" is an old name for the anointing oil). Thus "Christ" is a title, not a given name.
* The fourteenth Dalai Lama, as well as his predecessors, were all chosen because they were believed to be the reincarnations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Supposedly the current Dalai Lama was shown a bunch of household items at the age of two, some that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama and some that didn't. He was then asked to determine which of the objects were his. He got every one right.
* Most prophets appear to be somewhat arbitrarily Chosen; they certainly [[AntiHero aren't all picked for their purity of heart]].
* Several heroes from Myth/ClassicalMythology were chosen for specific tasks. Hercules was born to fight beside the gods in the Gigantomachy and rid the world of monsters. Perseus was chosen to complete Athena's vengeance on Medusa.
* In Myth/NorseMythology, Odin fathered the Vali specifically to avenge the death of Balder.
* Jews believe themselves to be God's Chosen People. As such, they have extra responsibilities beyond that expected of the rest of mankind. This is why they make it so hard to convert.

[[folder:Opera]]
* In Wagner's ''[[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen Ring Cycle]]'', Siegfried is the hero destined to recover the Ring and rescue Brünnhilde from the ring of magic fire.

[[folder:Pinballs]]
* In ''VideoGame/LoonyLabyrinth,'' the player proves that he is the reincarnation of Theseus by finding the five [[PlotCoupon Galopetra Stones.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneAmnesty'' has Duck Newton, who [[RefusalOfTheCall refused the call]] to heroism.
* ''Podcast/InterstitialActualPlay'' has [[spoiler: Ennora, Roxanne's Somebody]], who is even played with The Chosen playbook.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/{{CMLL}}, and later Wrestling/{{AAA}}, actually had a MaskedLuchador who was simply known as El Elegido.
* Both Wrestling/JeffJarrett in Wrestling/{{WCW}} and Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre in WWE have been specifically referred to as "The Chosen One." In both cases the divine destiny was more the fact that they were well liked by the bookers, with Jeff being personal friends with Wrestling/VinceRusso and Drew apparently being a [[CreatorsPet favorite]] of WWE owner Wrestling/VinceMcMahon. Jeff has had some ups and downs with his chosen one gimmick. Drew was, at first, nearly universally reviled by the internet wrestling community as most found him to be very boring in the ring and on the mic. However, after he lost the Intercontinental Championship and was stopped being pushed as hard, Drew became an EnsembleDarkhorse.
* Regiomontana luchadora Pricesa Maya is referred to as "La Profecía Cumplida".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* Played with in the BBC Radio 4 play ''Radio/ElvenQuest'', in which the Chosen One is [[spoiler:the protagonist's dog.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', you're a Chosen One-in-three hundred/one hundred/fifty, depending upon what Exalt you chose.
** If the Alchemicals were to unite, they would be a Chosen ''Army''.
* Any time you run across a Chosen One in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', they're likely to [[FaceHeelTurn fall to Chaos]] or [[TheHeroDies get killed]] at some point.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5 Edition has the Favored Soul class, a character with an intuitive connection to a deity who can spontaneously cast divine spells. They are also automatically proficient with their deity's favored weapon, and gain bonuses to using it as they level up (traditional Clerics, on the other hand, may be able to summon self-wielding versions, but aren't proficient by default). They are also one of only two base classes in the game that has no weak saving throws.
* Gerrard from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is destined to defeat the dark god Yawgmoth. This is revealed to be so because he is the end result of Urza's millennium-long Bloodlines project. He is also at one point proclaimed to be the Korvecdal, the savior of the Kor, Vec and Dal tribes, but this title is later bestowed on Eladamri instead.
* Deconstructed in ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'', where the Queen of Mirror is looking for the "True Heir", a [[MagicalGirl Princess]] who, according to her, will finally defeat [[TheDarkSide the All-Consuming Darkness]] and bring the Light back in power, essentially fixing everything in the setting. There are only two problems with this: 1) Her criterias to qualify as a True Heir are completely unrealistic for [[CrapsackWorld this universe]], and 2) She has no clear idea ''how'' to identify this "True Heir", so she handles this issue by telling ''every single Princess she recruits'' that they are the one, and waiting for the good one to prove herself. This has resulted in her entire Court either becoming [[RoyalBrat childish egomaniac brats]] who are all [[ItsAllAboutMe literally convinced to be the center of the universe]] BecauseDestinySaysSo and [[NoHonorAmongThieves hate each other for being candidate to the title of True Heir]], or just suffering a brutal SanitySlippage as they fail to live up to her ridiculously high standards.
[[/folder]]

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': A title variously ascribed to Minato, Nagato and Naruto. Since Nagato and Minato both died without doing anything nearly as Chosen One-y as Naruto, it's a safe bet that Naruto's the real one.

* ''Manga/DragonBall''
** PlayedWith this. Vegeta firmly believes that one needs to be the Chosen One to become a Super Saiyan, something that should be achieved by him since he is the Saiyan Prince. After being beating to near death by Frieza, he concludes that Goku is the real Chosen One destined to ascend and defeat Frieza. In Bardock's final vision in the TV Special he foresees Goku challenging Frieza, and Goku is the first one to ascend to Super Saiyan in a thousand years and does defeat Frieza. Then Super Saiyan gets hit with UniquenessDecay and any Saiyan can become one with the right amount of anger and power, and Goten and Trunks achieved Super Saiyan without even trying. Then the Chosen One idea is brought back in ''Battle of Gods'' where Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God and the soundtrack for the ascension is even called the Chosen One. Also, unique to Goku, he keeps the power of godhood even after the time limit runs out.