Five Other Disney Villains Who Deserve An Origin Movie

First with the two Maleficent films, and now Cruella, Disney has found success in films re-imagining or providing origin stories for some of their most loved villains. With talk already swirling of a possible sequel to Cruella, fans are also asking which villain might be next to receive the solo film treatment.

Here are five Disney villains who deserve their own film.

1. Ursula

As all Disney fans are aware, Ursula the Sea Witch is the villain of The Little Mermaid. Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to give her legs for three days in order to win the heart of the human Prince Eric. However, Ursula fully intends for Ariel to fail, to use her as a bargaining chip in her plans for revenge on King Triton, Ariel's father.

Why does Ursula want revenge? Well, prior to the events of the film, Triton banished Ursula from the Palace, where she had once lived. Ever since the original film's release, fans have questioned why exactly Ursula was banished. This is exactly the kind of storyline that could be explored in an Ursula-centred prequel. The potential film could also reintroduce the idea that Ursula and Triton were siblings, a plot that was cut from the original film for timing purposes.

2. Scar

Scar from The Lion King is known as one of Disney's most evil villains, for murdering his brother, Mufasa, and attempting to orchestrate the murder of his young nephew, Simba. He is also loved for having one of the most memorable villain songs with 'Be Prepared', leaving fans devastated when the song did not appear in its entirety in the 2019 remake of The Lion King.

As with Ursula, many fans have questions about Scar's past, such as how he receieved his scar. Three different explanations are given or hinted at throughout Lion King media. In the book 'A Tale Of Two Brothers', he received it from a Cape Buffalo in a failed plot against Mufasa, the series The Lion Guard says it came from a cobra, while the 2019 remake heavily implies that the scar was inflicted by Simba when his brother challenged him for the throne.

Fans are eager to have a definitive answer, and they may soon get one. Rumours suggest that the follow-up to the 2019 remake will be a prequel chronicling Mufasa's rise to power in the Pridelands. If so, it will likely tell Scar's story too.

3. Dr. Facilier

Since his debut in the Princess And The Frog, Dr. Facilier quickly became one of Disney's most popular villains. He was quickly added to the 'Disney Villains' merchandise line, and proved popular enough to be included in Once Upon A Time and the Descendants films.

Dr. Facilier is unique among Disney magic users as a practitioner of Voodoo, which he plans to use to murder Big Daddy LaBouff and take over New Orleans. However, unlike other villains, his personal abilities are actually quite minimal. Much of Facilier's power comes from deals with his 'Friends on the Other Side', dark spirits known as the Loa. Facilier is unable to hold up his end of the agreement, ultimately leading to his death. However, the exact details of his original agreement with the Loa are unknown, which some fans believe could provide an interesting story for a film.

4. Captain Hook

Captain James Hook, the villain of the Peter Pan universe, has long been a favourite of fans. The Disney version is often praised for being multi-faceted, combining slapstick humour with moments of being genuinely threatening. In fact, if not for Tinkerbell's timely intervention, Hook is probably one of the villains to actually come close to besting the hero of their film.

Ever since Hook first appeared in J.M Barrie's classic play/novel, fans have speculated on the character's past, such as how he came to be in Neverland, and how his rivalry with Peter Pan began. While a young Hook, voiced by Tom Hiddleston, appears in the film Tinkerbell and The Pirate Fairy, his first meeting with Pan isn't shown.

Barrie's original Peter Pan novel remains intentionally vague on what happens to any member of the Lost Boys who happens to grow up. One popular theory is that Hook is a Lost Boy ousted by Peter when he grew up, and Hook is bitter about this. Some theories go as far to propose that all the Pirates are banished Lost Boys, re-imagining Peter Pan as a somewhat villainous figure. This could be interesting material to explore in a Captain Hook-centric film.

5. Mother Gothel

When it was released in 2010, Tangled was seen as a return to form for Disney. One particularly praised element of the film was the villain, Mother Gothel, who kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby to maintain control of the youth-restoring abilities of the Sundrop flower. She raised Rapunzel as her own, all the while guilting and gaslighting Rapunzel into remaining inside the Tower they called home.

Gothel had known of the Sundrop flower and been using it to regularly restore her youth long before the film began, meaning she was already unnaturally old at the beginning of the story. Some fans wonder why Gothel was so desperate to extend her life, and believe that story could be told in another film.

Now, with the success of Cruella, some of these films could become a reality.