10 Movie Villains Who Became Heroes In The Sequel
When villains become heroes in the next movie.
Coming up with a great movie villain is no easy feat, but when the right actor is paired with a great script, filmmakers can create statuesque antagonists destined to be remembered forever more.
And so, the temptation to just bring a hit villain back to raise hell all over again in the sequel speaks for itself, because why not just give the audience more of what they enjoyed the first time?
But sometimes, in an attempt to shake things up, they end up nudged into a heroic role instead.
These 10 movie villains all became more heroic figures in the next film, whether teaming up with their original nemesis or simply deciding that the new villain is a whole lot worse than even themselves.
It can certainly come off as cheap and unconvincing when executed poorly - say, with countless characters in the Fast and the Furious franchise - but when it actually makes basic sense for the villain to change their ways, it can bring enormous added dimension to their character development.
Plus, after seeing them at odds with the hero for so long, having them forge an alliance is just a damn entertaining novelty, is it not?...
10. Hector Barbossa - Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
The original Pirates of the Caribbean introduced the deliciously villainous Captain Barbossa, played to perfection by the great Geoffrey Rush.
A conniving schemer determined to break the curse placed upon him and his men, he becomes a major thorn in the side of Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and company, even if he's ultimately defeated come the ending.
Sequel Dead Man's Chest introduced a worthy antagonist successor in Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), but the film concluded with one hell of a big twist - the return of Barbossa.
More to the point, Barbossa is reintroduced as a quasi-heroic figure, to help guide the assembled party to save Jack's soul from Davy Jones' Locker.
And so in the third film, At World's End, Barbossa indeed adopts a more heroic-adjacent tenor, even if by film's end he's scarpered with the Black Pearl in search of the Fountain of Youth.
Barbossa's allegiances certainly prove fluid throughout the rest of the franchise, though on the balance of his actions - teaming up with Jack to take down several mutual enemies - he's absolutely closer to hero than villain.