18 Upcoming Villains Who Will Be More Interesting Than The Heroes

The bad guy is always more fun.

Kylo Ren Star Wars
Disney

More often than not, when it comes to movies, the hero is often responsible for carrying the story. They drive the plot forward, speak as a voice of reason and usually act as a point of view for the audience. Most movies cannot exist without a hero, but then a hero is nothing without a villain.

It’s a strong villain that gets people excited. In blockbusters, heroes are often stuck in certain roles, more often than not serving the needs of the plot rather than their own character. The villain, on the other hand, is not bound by such rules. Unburdened by things like morality, these characters are given far more room to breathe and more capacity to develop.

The best villains see themselves as the hero of their own story, and are thus singularly committed to achieving their own goals. Through those actions, they often bring out the best in our heroes, acting as the catalyst for them to grow.

From comic books to science fiction to drama, there’s a litany of major films coming out in the coming years, and each one is bound to feature at least one major antagonist. From famously established characters to brand new creations, these are the bad guys that will be so fascinating, they’ll outshine the heroes.

18. Shere Khan - Jungle Book: Origins

Kylo Ren Star Wars
Warner Bros

The Hero: The famous young jungle-dweller, Mowgli, a feral boy who fancies himself a real animal.

The Villain: The unofficial ruler of the jungle, the fearsome tiger Shere Khan, who will be brought to life through motion-capture by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Why The Villain Will Be More Interesting: After so many adaptations, Mowgli has become familiar, uninteresting. In a movie full of famous actors playing jungle animals through motion capture, the lone human of the bunch isn’t exactly interesting.

Rather, having one of the most popular actors around playing the animal villain is far more exciting. Cumberbatch’s Smaug was one of the few redeeming features of the entire Hobbit trilogy so having him pick up where he left off almost necessitates that the character will be fascinating.

Beyond that, this is a character who ultimately hates and fears Mowgli because he is a human. Mowgli’s goals in life are simply to exist but it’s clear that Shere Khan is taking much more drastic measures to survive. He’s scared of what Mowgli will become and exploring that could give him incredible depth while justifying his villainous actions.

Contributor

Connor loves movies, comics, and TV, and is trying to write for people who feel the same way. When he's not sitting on the couch with his laptop, you might find him lying in his bed with his laptop.