Bright's Mythology and World Explained

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Bright.

Netflix's foray into big-budget blockbuster movies with Bright may not have see the resoundingly positive critical reception the streaming giant would like, but the urban fantasy action cop drama certainly has a number of redeeming factors, not the least of which is the fascinating mythology surrounding its modern-day alternate fantasy reality in which Humans, Elves, Orcs, and more all live in present-day Los Angeles.

With a world that teases government organizations and secret societies as complex as those seen in Harry Potter and gritty street-level police drama like David Ayer became famous for with Training Day and End of Watch, Bright did not shy away from building a complicated lore, and, while it could be all a lot to take in, it still developed a fascinating world ripe for a potential franchise. With a sequel already in the works, we can expect to see more from this universe, exploring this 2,000-year-old lore even further.

Page 1 (this page): The Dark Lord, Magic, Wands, and Brights

The Dark Lord

The Dark Lord is a powerful evil entity that wants to enslave the world in his magic. 2,000 years ago, he came to power through his use of dark magic, death, and destruction. Armies or Orcs sided with him in an attempt to spread his influence.

Uniting against the power of the Dark Lord, a simple Orc farmer, Jirak, who had not pledged himself to the Dark Lord or even been "blooded" by his own people, stood up against the forces of darkness. Rallying to his cause, the 9 races of the world stood shoulder to shoulder, bringing their own magic to bear against the Dark Lord, killing him.

Despite his death, a prophecy states that the power of 3 wands could be sufficient to bring him back from the dead so he can kill billions and enslave the world in the influence of his magic once more.

Magic

Bright exists in a world that looks very much like the one we live in, only there are a number of fantasy elements injected, namely a number of races like Elves, Orcs, and Centaurs. While magic is very much a part of the lore, it is not in active use, and in some cases appears to even be hotly debated as a myth or conspiracy theory.

Because magic was a primary tool of the Dark Lord's, its use, and information about its existence is highly regulated, so while this world grows out of a magical fantasy setting, it's far more grounded and similar to the real world, with most weapons, machines, and other technology functioning by their traditional means instead of having any kind of magical augmentation.

Wands

Magical wands are items of immense magical power. Described as being "like a nuclear bomb that grants wishes," wands can be used for a variety of purposes from attack to defense or healing, but presumably, have near infinite applications if the wielder is proficient enough.

Wands are exceptionally rare and highly regulated due to their clear potential for misuse. In addition to their inherent destructive potential, the union of 3 wands would supply enough magic to return the Dark Lord himself from the grave, so it's clear a wand is no trivial matter.

Brights

Wands can only be wielded by a special being called a "Bright." Brights aren't their own races, but special people within their own race. Brights are almost exclusively known to be Elves, but once in a great while, a human Bright will appear. If it's possible for an Orc or other race to also be a Bright, it's so infrequent that it's virtually unknown, or the Brights that do exist in other races have just never had an opportunity to come in contact with a wand.

If anyone that isn't a bright touches a wand with their bare skin, they are completely consumed by its magic, exploding in a wave of magic that can kill everything in the near vicinity. However, merely being a Bright in and of itself isn't enough to properly wield a magic wand. Knowing the proper spells is necessary to use different magical applications, and without proficient training, the more powerful spells can be very threatening to inexperienced brights.

Elves

Elves are a high race of humanoid beings that control most of everything in the world. They're more naturally in tune with magic than other races, are extremely agile, and super strong. As the superior race, they can live in segregated communities, with an entire section of LA being designated the Elven District. The entrance to the Elven District is guarded by a checkpoint with a militarized police force and everything within the district is clearly kept to a much cleaner standard the much of the rest of the city.

Elves are naturally more fair featured and have a strong aesthetic sense, typically dressing and styling themselves far more stylishly than other beings. Elven society is clearly far richer, and their elevated social position, and the appearance of special treatment, understandably draws the ire of other races, with some graffiti saying "In the beginning, God Created All Races Equal, but elves are more equal" as a clear twist on the quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm.

Humans

While Elves are a clear upper class, humans seem to live mostly below the elves, although they appear to enjoy a fair amount of class mobility. Unlike the other races, there are more divisions and subcultures within the human race, denoted by color, class, income, and many of the other factors we see in the real world.

While humans are more numerous than other races and hold more social authority than some, like Orcs, they don't have many clear biological advantages. Elves may be superior in almost every way, while Orcs are far stronger, more durable, and have an amazing sense of smell, at the expense of speed and agility (both areas Elves are also superior).

Orcs

Orcs are the clear underclass in this world. Because of their allegiance to the Dark Lord 2,o00 years ago, they're looked down on by everyone, especially the humans whose ancestors fought them in battle. While Orcs physical advantages benefit them in some ways, such as the fact that most NFL linemen are Orcs, their grotesque look earns them the slur "pigs" from the more bigoted members of other races.

Orcs are very tribal, and often ascribe to clan law above all else. An Orc is considered "blooded" as a sort of right of passage after completing an impressive feat of bravery (often violent), meaning gang involvement is rampant in the Orc community. There's a prophecy that says once the Dark Lord returns he will once again claim Orc allegiance to his cause, leading to intense distrust by other races.

LAPD

The Los Angeles Police Force is responsible for policing the city of Los Angeles and is mostly comprised of humans (and a few Centaurs), but a recent diversity initiative has led to the LAPD recruiting the first ever Orc to serve as a policeman, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), who is partnered with Officer Daryl Ward (Will Smith). While Jakoby takes his job seriously, even filing his tusks down to appear less threatening to the officers he works with (even though it makes his own people look down on him), anti-Orc sentiment is still rampant throughout the force as many conspire to get him removed.

The LAPD's problems don't stop with bigotry, but they have a reputation for their use of excessive force, creating an antagonistic relationship between them and the Orcs, spawning the phrase "curse the police" amongst the more rebellious factions.

Magic Task Force

While the LAPD defends against small-scale local threats, the United States Department of Magic has also created the Magic Task Force, charged with investigating magical violations of the laws of the United States. Not only do they ensure magic wielders the use of magic items doesn't get out of hand, but also work to prevent the spreading of information about the existence of certain forms of magic, like wands.

Since Brights are the only ones that can wield magic wands, the Magic Task Force primarily hunts Brights, regardless of affiliation, to make sure the threat of magic misuse, or, worst case scenario, to prevent the Brights from coordinating to resurrect the Dark Lord. The Elf Kandomere (Edgar Ramirez) is the agent dispatched to Los Angeles to combat the Inferni, tracking down Brights and wands.

Shield of Light

The Shield of Light is an underground militant group intent on preparing to combat the Dark Lord's inevitable return. While the Magic Task Force tries to prevent magic being used to resurrect him, the Shield of Light sees his return as an eventuality.

Outside of magic, all the guns, tanks, and drones in the world would not be sufficient for combating the malevolent force, and the Shield of Light knows the use of magic is the only true way to defeat it again, so they are working in secret to collect Brights, wands, and other means of defeating a resurrected Dark Lord.

Inferni

The Inferni are a group of renegade Elves seeking to bring the Dark Lord back to life and return him to power. In this quest, they seek to collect and train Brights in the magical art of wand use, so that once they have accumulated the requisite 3 wands, they can properly resurrect the Dark Lord.

100 years ago, the Inferno defeated the Illuminati to become the predominant secret society in the world. Led by the Elf Leilah (Noomi Rapace), she attempts to train her younger sister, Tikka (Lucy Fry) to be a Bright, but Tikka betrays the Inferni to join the Shield of Light, taking Leilah's wand with her.

Creatures

The world of Bright isn't only occupied by a diverse assortment of sentient races, but also by a number of fantastical creatures like fairies and dragons. Fairies may look almost like miniature cousins of the Elves, but they aren't seen that way by most of society and definitely aren't treated as such. Instead, fairies are treated like common pests, with exterminators advertising fairy removal right alongside the same service for other pests like roaches.

Bright also features a glimpse at a dragon, and it's been suggested that the local zoo could house one of the giant beasts, but contact between civilization and dragons seems to be infrequent as dragon defenses aren't prominently deployed at regular intervals around the city. The movie also shows signs of other creatures, such as signs warning of reptile crossings, the movie doesn't delve into those as much as they do fairies.

With so much worldbuilding accomplished in this first installment, Bright is ripe for a sequel. Hopefully any further ventures into this universe will be received more positively, encouragine more unique takes on the genre of a similar nature.