Whether they are haunting you in your dreams or leading a galactic empire in a galaxy far, far away, villains are everywhere in cinema. Villains have probably been around since the invention of storytelling, since the hero always has to have someone to go up against.
Today, there are too many villains to even count. While every fandom has some sort of a bad guy who battles the hero, only certain actors are praised in their wicked roles.
Certain actors tend to be type-cast as villains, such as Hugo Weaving and Jason Isaacs, while other actors catch fans off guard when they are revealed to be a villain.
Everyone has their opinion about who should be cast in certain roles but that is almost always left up to the movie studios and casting department. Fans are sometimes given a chance to give input on who they want to play iconic villains, but often times, their voices are left unheard.
Sometimes, fans host dream casting websites for people they would love to see in a sequel, while other times, they might start petitions to get certain actors to play certain roles.
This does not always sway a studios position on a casting decision but they can be none the less entertaining.
Other times, fans who have a creative side may create artwork with their favorite actors as classic characters.
With that said, here are the 20 A-Listers Reimagined As Villains.
20. David Harbour As Sabretooth
Today, David Harbour is most known for his role as Jim Hopper in Netflix’s Stranger Things. Jim Hopper is a good guy in every sense of the word and is basically Eleven’s adopted father.
While the actor will also be playing Hellboy in 2019, some people have imagined Harbour playing another Marvel character.
This fan art reimagines David Harbour as Sabretooth and the end product turned out incredible.
The character first appeared in Iron Fist #14 but has since appeared in the live-action X-Men movies. Sabretooth was played by Thomas Mane in X-Men and Liev Schreiber in X-Men Origins.
While neither actor really did a poor job in the role, many fans would be thrilled to see David Harbour battle Wolverine in a future movie.
Emma Stone As Cruella de Vil
Emma Stone has gained a steady fanbase over the years. She was an Oscar Nominee for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in 2015 and actually won her first Oscar for La La Land in 2017.
The woman has proven herself as an actress, which is probably why she was picked up to play Cruella in Disney’s live-action movie about the character.
Cruella de Vil is not only a rude person in general, but she is also mean to puppies and you cannot get much more sinister than that.
While the movie may not yet have a release date, this fan art shows us that Emma Stone can certainly pull off the look of Cruella de Vil.
Willem Dafoe As The Joker
The Joker has always been one of Batman’s greatest foes. Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and Heath Ledger are most known for portraying the twisted clown, but more actors continue to play the character in new movies and TV shows.
Mark Hamill may be known for being Luke Skywalker, but he is also known for voicing the Joker in several Batman animated series and movies.
Cameron Monaghan is currently playing the Joker in Gotham for the TV world, while Jared Leto is playing the Joker for the DCEU.
With multiple Joker movies currently in development, many fans have created art of who they would want to be in the Joker solo spin-off.
While Joaquin Phoenix looks like he will be the next one wearing the clown makeup, Willem Dafoe was once a fan-favorite to play the character.
Olivia Wilde As The Evil Queen
Disney is all for making live-action remakes of some of their most iconic animated movies. We have already seen a live-action Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, and Disney has plans for several other movies to get the live-action treatment.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is currently on their radar, but not a lot of concrete information has been released for the movie.
As of right now, Brie Larson is rumored to be involved in a film that revolves around Snow White’s sister named Rose Red. Universal Studios made their own live-action Snow White in 2012 and a sequel in 2016, but neither were that critically praised.
While Charlize Theron played the Evil Queen named Ravenna in these two movies, someone else will probably take over for Disney’s version, and Olivia Wilde could fill those shoes.
Andy Serkis As The Penguin
The Penguin has not been at the center of a live-action Batman movie since Tim Burton’s Batman Returns in 1992. The film was Michael Keaton’s second outing as the caped crusader and the movie was nominated for the Oscars of Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup.
When it comes to makeup, Ve Neill, Ronnie Specter, and Stan Winston had their hands full with making Danny Devito look like a human and penguin without making him look ridiculous.
They seemed to pull it off given the Oscar nomination, but Hollywood has not tried to duplicate the success for movie since.
However, Robin Taylor portrays Oswald Cobblepot on Gotham and the Penguin may be a villain in The Batman or Birds of Prey.
While nothing has been confirmed, some fans would like to see Andy Serkis in a DCEU role possibly as the Penguin.
Robin Williams As The Riddler
The Riddler is another one of Batman’s famous foes. Edward Nygma has been portrayed by a few different actors over the years, most notably Frank Gorshin in the ’60s Batman television series and Jim Carrey in Batman Forever.
While Carrey gave an interesting performance, to say the least, the role almost went to the late Robin Williams.
Before Joel Schumacher took over the Batman franchise, Tim Burton was planning on making a third Batman movie with Robin Williams in the lead role of the Riddler, but it didn’t happen.
Warner Bros. was originally going to cast Williams as the Joker in the first film but the role, of course, went to Jack Nicholson.
We will never know what his performance would have been like, and fun fan art– like the image above– will be a constant reminder of what could have been.
Will Poulter As Pennywise
Tim Curry is known for playing Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the TV mini-series titled It. While the mini-series itself may not have aged very well, it was only a matter of time before the character got a new feature-length movie.
Cary Fukunaga was originally going to direct the movie, but when he left the project he commented, ”They wanted me to make a much more inoffensive, conventional script. But I don’t think you can do proper Stephen King and make it inoffensive.”
Muschietti’s It was in no way a family-friendly affair, and Will Poulter was replaced by Bill Skarsgård.
Before it was announced that Poulter would be replaced, some fans took to Photoshop to see what Poulter could have looked like as Pennywise.
Jake Gyllenhaal As Mysterio
Spider-Man’s evil villain Mysterio made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 in June 1964. Since then, he has become one of Spider-Man’s mortal enemies and often aligns himself with the Sinister Six.
While Spidey fans have never gotten a live-action form of Mysterio for a feature film, Sam Raimi would have included Mysterio in his canceled Spider-Man 4.
The character would have been played by Bruce Campbell expanding his role in the Raimi’s Spider-Man movies.
While this plan ultimately fell through, Mysterio may be the big baddie for Spider-Man: Homecoming 2. Jake Gyllenhaal is rumored to be playing the villain, although nothing been confirmed.
This fan art imagines what Gyllenhaal could look like as Mysterio if he were to be cast in the movie.
Benedict Cumberbatch As Brainiac
Benedict Cumberbatch is no stranger to fandoms. He has a strong fanbase of people who followed him as Sherlock Holmes on BBC’s Sherlock. He also landed the role of Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has made his name even more recognizable.
Apart from Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch has also been a part of both the Hobbit and Star Trek trilogies.
Needless to say, Benedict Cumberbatch is a popular guy.
In Hollywood, there is always room to become more famous, however, which could happen if Cumberbatch were to portray Superman’s villain Brainiac as this fan art suggests.
Brainiac has recently appeared on Syfy’s Krypton and Brainiac 5 was also on The CW’s Supergirl. Cumberbatch may have not been in either of these shows, but fans can hope.
Angelina Jolie As Catwoman
Catwoman is not your ordinary villain. She very much has a love/hate relationship with Batman, but she is still considered enough of a villain to make this list.
Even though it seems like Catwoman and Batman are planning on getting married in the comic books, they have had a long rivalry.
Over the years, many actresses have portrayed Catwoman, including Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, and most recently, Camren Bicondova.
While all of these actresses are famous for the role in their own way, this fan art focuses on Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in Batman Returns.
Even though Angelina Jolie was only 16-years-old when the movie came out, she could still make a great Catwoman.
Bryan Cranston As Jack Torrance
The Shining was released back in 1980, which is almost forty years ago.
It is hard to believe that this movie came out so long ago since it still lives up to horror movies today and has become a cult classic.
While a movie came quickly after Stephen King published the book in 1977, a sequel to the book didn’t come out until 2013.
The sequel, which is called Doctor Sleep, focuses on an older Danny Torrance who works with the elderly at a hospice center.
Since this is actually being turned into a movie with Ewan McGregor in the lead as Danny, a Shining remake probably won’t be happening anytime soon.
Despite this, it’s hard to argue that Bryan Cranston couldn’t pull off the look of Jack Torrance.
Queen Latifah As Ursula
Annie Leibovitz may be known for taking the famous portrait of a clothless John Lennon hugging Yoko Ono, but Leibovitz also worked for Disney at one point.
Leibovitz worked with the Walt Disney Company during their “Year Of A Million Dreams” promotion.
This promotion awarded prizes, aka “dreams,” to one million guests at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. These prizes included having the entire park to yourself for one day or a free one night stay in a royal bedchamber in Cinderella’s castle.
Leibovitz was recruited to photograph celebrities to make portraits combining their star power with iconic Disney characters.
One of these portraits was Queen Latifah dressed as Ursula from The Little Mermaid, and the result could not have turned out better.
Dwayne Johnson As Apocalypse
While Dwayne Johnson has been cast as the villain Black Adam for the DCEU, he was once rumored to be playing the mutant known as Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse.
The role ultimately went to Oscar Isaac, even though many probably did not notice him underneath all of the makeup.
En Sabah Nur was one of the first mutants and the main protagonist in Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse.
Dwayne Johnson has gained a lot of popularity in recent years after starring in movies like Fast Five, Hercules, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Johnson seems to have been in every type of movie genre, so a super villain would have been within the range of his acting ability.
Matthew Modine As Mister Sinister
Matthew Modine may have been acting since 1982, but today, he is mostly recognized from a show that was released in 2016.
Starring in movies like Full Metal Jacket and The Dark Knight Rises may have kept his acting career going, but playing Dr. Martin Brenner in Stranger Things is one of his most popular roles today.
While Brenner is truly a wicked guy, this fan art reimagines Modine as Mister Sinister from the X-Men universe.
Mister Sinister has been teased a few times in the X-Men movies, but has yet to get his own movie.
Maybe executives will look for Modine when they are looking to cast the character? Who knows.
Patrick Stewart as Mr. Freeze
Patrick Stewart is well known in the world of superheroes. He has played Charles Xavier in seven of the X-Men movies, and it is one of his most well-known roles to this day.
His other popular role is playing Captain Picard in several Star Trek movies and the TV show called Star Trek: The Next Generation.
While Professor X and Picard are two of his most iconic roles, Stewart could easily pull off the look for Victor Fries, aka Mr. Freeze.
Mr. Freeze is yet another member of Batman’s Rogues Gallery and was most infamously played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While Batman & Robin was quite laughable at times, Patrick Stewart could totally kick some ice as Mr. Freeze.
Kristen Wiig as Cheetah
With director Patty Jenkins announcing that Kristen Wiig would be playing Cheetah in Wonder Woman 2, it was only natural that fan art would quickly start to emerge.
This fan-made character poster features Kristen Wiig photoshopped as Wonder Woman’s enemy Cheetah.
Cheetah is often referred to as Wonder Woamn’s archenemy, so it makes sense that she would be included in the Wonder Woman sequel.
Wonder Woman seemed to put the DCEU back on track for the time being, but the train was quickly derailed again when Justice League was released.
Hopefully, Wonder Woman 1984 and Kristen Wiig will live up to people’s expectations when the movie comes out on November 1, 2019.
Woody Harrelson As Carnage
With the Venom trailer not revealing much about the overall story, rumors have run wild about the new movie. Even though Joe Russo has stated that Venom is not in the MCU, this particular rumor continues to accumulate more followers.
Another rumor about Venom is that Carnage will have some type of a role in the movie.
Woody Harrelson has been cast in the movie, which leads some to believe he will play Carnage, despite the fact that he reportedly isn’t in the movie for a very long time.
Regardless of whether the rumor about Carnage is true or not, fans have taken to their photoshop skills to reimagine Harrelson as the famous character.
Fans won’t have to wait very much longer to figure out if the rumors are true, since the movie releases this October.
Keira Knightley As Cable
After it was announced in the after credits scene of Deadpool that Cable would be in the sequel, fan speculation went wild imagining who could be cast as the time-traveling cyborg.
During the clip, Deadpool said that they don’t know who would be cast but that it could be Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, or even Keira Knightly.
While there is fan art of a bunch of males dressed as Cable, this Keira Knightley version is by far the best.
Deadpool 2 was yet another win for Josh Brolin, but the movie could have been very different if Keira Knightley was cast as Cable.
Maybe one day, fans will get a Keira Knightley Cable movie, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Russell Brand As Captain Hook
Russell Brand is now arguably just as famous in the United States as he is in the United Kingdom. Brand has starred in movies like Arthur, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and the spin-off Get Him to the Greek.
While there have been many actors who have played Peter Pan’s archenemy Captain Hook, Brand, unfortunately, has not been one of them.
This promo image by Disney Parks was a portrait done by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
While some may not agree with Brand’s political views, it is easy to agree that he looks like Captain Hook.
Someone needs to start a petition for Russell Brand to star in a solo Captain Hook movie. He’s got the hair and facial hair for it anyway.
Rowan Atkinson
This one is for all of the Mr. Bean fans out there. Rowan Atkinson is mainly a British actor known for the role of a quirky baboon known only as Mr. Bean.
He is quite a popular British comedian, but was also the voice of Zazu in Disney’s The Lion King.
While he has been in other roles besides Mr. Bean, Bean is probably his most iconic role.
Some of his fans have even photoshopped his face on popular characters and paintings, which are probably some of the funniest images you will ever find on the internet.
This specific example is a mashup of Rowan Atkinson and He Who Must Not Be Named from the Harry Potter series.
Ralph Fiennes may have been good as Voldemort, but Atkinson could have made the role very… unique.
Would you like to see any of these A-list villains on the big screen? Let us know in the comments!
