Films based around the origins of beloved heroes and characters have become increasingly popular in Hollywood. FromMarvel and DC superheroes, to Willy Wonka and Puss in Boots, it seems like every famous character is getting an origin story movie these days.
However, it’s not just the good guys that are getting their moment in the spotlight, but the bad guys too.Are villains born or created?It’s a question that has been explored in a number of movie franchise prequels, which give context and backstory as to how some of the most evil characters in cinema came to be the monsters they are.
10‘Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace’ (1999)
Tomatometer Score: 52%
While the quality of theStar Warsprequel trilogy is something that will continue to divide audiences until the end of time, fans can agree that it did one thing right, and that is establishing Anakin Skywalker’s (Hayden Christensen) path from Jedi to galactic dictator Darth Vader. InThe Phantom Menace, Anakin (Jake Lloyd) is a child on Tatooine discovered by Jedis Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor).
He is strong with the Force, and the pair believe he could be the key to restoring balance. There is no sign of the Sith Lord Anakin will eventually become, as here he is portrayed as a sweet, innocent and very intelligent and resourceful young boy. His drive and competitiveness shows when he competes in thefilm’s famous pod race sequence, but he is far from any kind of evil at this point.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Two Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.
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9’Maleficent' (2014)
Tomatometer Score: 54%
She is one of the most iconic and wicked Disney villains of all time, but 2014’sMaleficentflipped the classicSleeping Beautystory and character on its head. Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) was originally a kind-hearted fairy who fell in love with King Stefan (Shartlo Copley), untilshe was betrayed by him when he became ruler and cut off her wings. Years later, out of vengeance, she curses Stefan’s daughter Aurora (Elle Fanning).
By giving reason and backstory as to why Maleficent is so hateful and cruel, there is much more depth to her character and sympathy towards her garnered by viewers. While the film inevitably takes a different turn to the original narrative and sees Maleficent emerge as more of an antihero, it is intriguing to see exactly why she did what she did to Aurora.
Maleficent
A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child could be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.
Tomatometer Score: 64%
InThe Hunger Gamesfranchise, President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the cold and tyrannical ruler of Panem, and enemy number one to rebellion leader Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). However,The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakesproves that he was not always like this, and offersa powerful character studyand complex meditation on power.
In the prequel, a young Corialanus (Tom Blyth) is a mentor in the 10th Hunger Games, and develops a complicated relationship with Lucy Graid Baird (Rachel Zegler), his tribute from District 12. While this version of Snow is pompous, privileged and ambitious,he still has some humanity and is actually a likable character. The film demonstrates how he contributed to developing the games into the spectacle they eventually become, and how his drive and pride put him on a path there is no return from.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesfollows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) - the last hope for the once-proud Snow family - who is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12 for the 10th Hunger Games. Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will become a songbird or a snake.
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7‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ (2022)
Tomatometer Score: 69%
In a more lighthearted example of a villain origin story,MinionssequelMinions: The Rise of GrufollowsDespicable Me’s Gru (Steve Carrell) as a young boy and aspiring supervillain. Determined to become theworld’s greatest supervillain, Gru tries to join the Vicious 6, but fails and has a team of criminals on his tail as a result.
Luckily, he has thehelp of his yellow, overall wearing army - his Minions(Pierre Coffin) - and Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), who was previously kicked out of the group. With its 1970s setting, there are plenty of flared pants and big hairdos as Gru tries to escape the suburbs and achieve supervillain supremacy. What is evident is that Gru couldn’t have become the esteemed baddie he is inDespicable Mewithout the help of his beloved Minions.
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6‘Joker’ (2019)
The Joker is not only the greatest comic book villain of all time, but perhaps the greatest movie villain of all time too. While many actors have portrayed the clown prince of crime - famously includingHeath LedgerinThe Dark Knight-Joaquin Phoenixbrings a whole new level of darkness and disturbance to the character in 2019’sJoker. The crime-thriller reimagines The Joker as Arthur Fleck, an aspiring comedian and party clown in Gotham City.
When society rejects and mocks him,he descends into madnessand embraces a life of violence and chaos. While the character at first earns empathy from the audience, he becomes so far gone that there is no justifying his actions. Batman’s nemesis has never felt more deranged yet realistic, and Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-winning performance is one for the ages.
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
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5‘Cruella’ (2021)
Tomatometer Score: 75%
Nothing says evil quite like literally having ‘cruel’ and ‘devil’ in your name. Before she was killing puppies for coats, Cruela de Vil was killing it in the world of fashion, as seen in the prequelCruella. The Cruella we meet here is not the psychotic madwoman seen in101 Dalmatians, but instead a young creative woman named Estella (Emma Stone).
Estella dreams of making it as a fashion designer, but the world seems to be against her. As she climbs higher within the ranks of haute couture, her ambition causes her to embrace her recklessness. The characterperfectly fits within the ‘70s London punk-rock era, complete with dazzling costumes and a wicked sense of humor. The film even explores the backstory as to why Cruella hates dalmatians so much, as they were ordered to kill her mother.
A live-action prequel feature film following a young Cruella de Vil.
4‘Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)
Tomatometer Score: 79%
The final film in theStar Warsprequel trilogy sees the full circle moment whereAnakin gives into the dark side and becomes Darth Vader, losing every essence of his humanity. Despite having become a Jedi and showing promise of restoring the Force,Anakin is brainwashed by Chancellor Palptaine(Ian McDiarmid) into a plot to rule the galaxy together.
Fueled by jealousy, fear and rage, Anakin turns against Obi-Wan, his love Padme (Natalie Portman) and the entire Jedi army as he is lured in by Palpatine’s deceit. By this point, Anakin is a character audiences have come to care about, making his downfall all the more tragic and poignant. It all comes to a brilliantly climactic end as Anakin fights Obi-Wan on the fiery Mustafar, leaving his old self behind forever.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Three years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan pursues a new threat, while Anakin is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy.
3‘Batman Returns’ (1992)
Tomatometer Score: 81%
DirectorTim Burtonbrought his distinctive and spooky style to the world of Gotham City withBatmanandBatman Returns, starringMichael Keatonas the caped crusader. WhileBatman Returnsmay be a Batman movie, there is another character who steals the show entirely. Bruce Wayne has faced many infamous villains, including the Joker and the Riddler, but none more peculiar than the Penguin.
In the hit sequel,Danny DeVitotransforms into Oswald Cobblepot, a deformed manwreaking havoc across Gotham as he tries to take over the city. Oswald emerges from the sewers of the city after being abandoned by his parents and taken in by a family of penguins (hence the name). The film’s impressive prosthetics and makeup, as well as DeVito’s characterization, help to bring the monstrous character to life in disgustingly show-stopping fashion.
Batman Returns
While Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.
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2‘X-Men: First Class’ (2011)
Tomatometer Score: 86%
X-Men: First Classlaunched a new trilogy that explored just how Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters came to be.James McAvoyandMichael Fassbenderplay Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr before they were Professor X and Magneto. Magneto is, of course, the big bad played byIan McKellenin the 2000sX-Menmovies, butFirst Classreveals the reason as to why he wants to destroy humanity so much.
As Charles and Erik initially work together tofind other mutants like themselves, their opposing positions become very clear. Charles believes mutants and humans can live alongside each other in peace, while Erik is adamant thatmutants can only thrive if humanity is extinct. This is due to his experience at the Auschwitz concentration camp as a child, where he was a prisoner and his mother was murdered. This scene shown at the beginning of the film adds another layer to Magneto’s character, making him a villain with purpose and reason.
X-Men: First Class
In the 1960s, superpowered humans Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr work together to find others like them, but Erik’s vengeful pursuit of an ambitious mutant who ruined his life causes a schism to divide them.
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1‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974)
Tomatometer Score: 96%
Francis Ford Coppola’sThe Godfathertrilogy is one of the greatest cinematic works of all time, withPart IandIIoften hailed as the two best movies ever made. WhilePart I, which follows mafia boss don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), is undoubtedly a masterpiece,Part IIis even bigger in scope and richer in storytelling.
As son Michael (Al Pacino) struggles to take over the family crime syndicate, audiences are given a peek into young Vito’s (Robert DeNiro) life growing up in Sicily and eventually moving to New York. The film shows how Vito built his crime empire, and while he isruthless and cold-hearted, it is also clear that everything he does is for his family. DeNiro’s Oscar winning portrayal turns him into an even more complex character, making this a sequel/prequel on par with its predecessor, if not surpassing it.
The Godfather Part II
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
