It is no secret that Disney has significantly evolved over the last 100 years. The company started with hand drawings of Mickey Mouse, then it moved towards various princesses finding their happily ever afters, and as of late, storylines are comprised of more relatable topics and diverse characters. Even with all the changes, there is still one commonality among Disney films: there is always a villain. These characters used to come in the form of wicked witches or apparent individuals with an evident hatred for the protagonist. However, in recent years, Disney villains have become less prominent.

Update October 21, 2023: In the spirit of Halloween and Disney's 100 Year Anniversary, this article has been updated with even more Disney villains that deserve origin movies.

Due to this fact, Disney started revisiting many of their iconic villains in prequel movies. Films such as Cruella and Maleficent shine a light on a couple of villains' backstories, and fans can't seem to get enough of them. For the Disney villains that cause destruction and wreak havoc, has anyone wondered about their past? What has made them so vengeful and angry? Giving a wicked character a backstory that can explain their future hatred and actions is brilliant. People enjoy redemption stories but also fancy the psychological issues and tormented childhoods of antagonists. Here are some Disney villains that deserve big-screen origin stories.

15 Hades — Hercules

When you look back for a moment, it's impressive how James Wood managed to infuse Hades with so much sass. The character is the best part of Hercules as the ruler of The Underworld and brother of Zeus. His ploy to become the sole ruler of Olympus is not exactly original, but his reliance on minions speaks volumes about his ability to trust his henchmen.

A film exploring Hade's origin could be fun. We could see Hades early years and how he became bitter towards his brother despite having his kingdom to rule. Doing it in live-action could also offer a more comedic live-action reimagining of the story, allowing a great improviser or comedic actor to step into the role.

14 Shan Yu — Mulan

In Mulan, Shan Yu is depicted as the ruthless and cold-hearted leader of the Huns. Their overall goal is to conquer China and kill anyone who stands in their way. Given that the country's leadership has been passed down through generations, Shan Yu's brute force to take the land is rooted in his need to show he is more powerful than those in the ruling family.

What fans want to know, however, is why is Shan Yu doing this? Was he born into a clan that deemed him the leader of the Huns? Was he raised believing that he had formal rights to rule? Disney could focus on different histories and cultures in a possible origin story dealing with the invading group across the lands.

13 Jafar — Aladdin

While the voice of Jonathan Freeman can't match the imposing presence of Marwan Kenzari, getting a Jafar film could be fun. The powerful sorcerer and the royal vizier of Agrabah seen in Aladdin is not exactly the most pleasant villain you can come across in Disney lore, as his creepy demeanor and treacherous nature can be seen from a mile away.

However, these types of characters usually have a tragic backstory that leads them to turn out this way. Just as we saw in 2021's Cruella, the silver tongue of the vizier probably was put to good use at some point. The 2019 live-action Aladdin gave the character a backstory of coming from the streets as a thief like Aladdin, so that is an interesting premise to build off of. A prequel to the 2019 film that shows how Jafar became a villain is an interesting way to continue that franchise.

12 Claude Frollo — The Hunchback of Notre Dame

It's always the most pious among us, the ones holding on to the darkest secrets and feelings. Judge Claude Frollo is the lead Minister of Justice in Pairs in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the man is a racist, xenophobic, and murderous human being by nature. Maybe one of the worst villains ever interpreted by Disney. But is there something more in there?

How does a man of justice go down such a dark path? What tainted his soul to become the way he is? We know his convictions are not as strong as he displays them as he lusts for Esmeralda to the point of being willing to kill her if she doesn't accept his advances. Does this man have his heart broken one too many times? Was he made pious by obligation? That's a good story to explore there.

11 The Horned King — The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron is the first ever PG-rated Disney animated features a villain that was the stuff of nightmares for every parent in 1985 at the height of the satanic fearmongering campaign. The Horned King is a devilish-looking skeleton with fiery red eyes garbed on a hooded robe, and boy, was that a scary visual for the era.

The Horned King is the type of villain we rarely get in films these days; he was evil for the sake of evil alone. His sole goal was to conquer the world using an undead army created with The Black Cauldron. A film can explore his motivations further. What was The Horned King before gaining his ghoulish appearance? Was he a failed conqueror? We see a lot of potential there.

10 The Sanderson Sisters — Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus 2 briefly showed how the Sanderson Sisters got their powers, but fans were left wanting more. Winifred has always taken the lead in her sisters' lives, and we want to know how she got put in that position. It was mentioned that her father had passed away, but no details followed that comment.

Also, where is their mother? When the trio meets Mother Witch in the forbidden woods just outside of Salem, she exclaims that Winifred has a certain temper and power to her. What has young Winnie done in the past — purposely or accidentally — that has granted her this energy? There are many ways to spin the origin story of the Sanderson sisters; Disney just needs to take the leap.

9 Ursula — The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid's sea witch lives in isolation with her moray eel henchmen, Flotsam and Jetsam. When Ursula speaks of Ariel's father, King Triton, there seems to be a shared past between the two. Fanfiction writers have taken to several blogs to create an origin story for Ursula. This was recently expanded upon in the 2023's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, which established Ursula and Triton as siblings.

This is an interesting dynamic to explore for a prequel film. How these two had such a falling it. Similar to the brother dynamics of Loki and Thor in the MCU or even Scar and Mufasa, it would be interesting to explore this dynamic, but this time between brother and sister. It could tackle gender norms and expectations, that maybe Ursula was unfairly cast out, and her exile led her down a villainous path.

8 Scar — The Lion King

There are two variations of Scar's backstory, but they are both rooted in the fact that as the younger brother to Mufasa, Scar wanted to prove himself better than his brother and become king of the lands. Given that Mufasa was firm yet not unfriendly toward his little brother in The Lion King, the film hints at Scar stewing in his own bitterness and jealousy while his righteous brother followed expectations in his younger years and became the king.

Fans who are curious about Scar's backstory will actually get to see it unfold in Mufasa: The Lion King, which is set for release in July 2024. The film is a prequel to the 2019 remake and will see Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) lending his voice to a young Scar. The story will show what seperated the two brothers and Scar's tragic backstory.

7 The Evil Queen — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White's stepmother, Queen Grimhilde, feels as if she is in competition with the princess. As the young girl grew to be beautiful, the queen felt like she was no longer "the fairest one of all." This trope used to be very standard in classic princess movies but to modernize the old tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney should focus on the upbringing of Queen Grimhilde.

Was she really the most beautiful in the land at one point in time? Did praise from her parents or the townspeople drive her to be so shallow? While Once Upon a Time did a lot to expand the mythology of the Queen, there is still plenty of story to be told. With Gal Gadot stepping into the role for the live-action remake, audiences will likely find out more about her.

6 Yzma — The Emperor's New Groove

Yzma's vengeful plans come from the fact that she felt like Kuzco wrongly fired her from her advising position in The Emperor's New Groove. She saw him as a childish ruler who did not take his job seriously, and honestly, she was right at the time. However, for her to conspire with her own assistant to kill her former employee makes one believe that she has always had wicked tendencies.

What was young Yzma like? She is incredibly bright, and someone must have taken notice when she was just a child. Was she always made to feel like an outcast, or did she do that to herself? Yzma is one of the most comical villains, but her backstory would likely be rooted in seriousness and experimentation to better her situation.

5 Captain Hook — Peter Pan

The life of a pirate is anything but ordinary, and Captain Hook is by far one of the most infamous villains. Fans know that he and Peter Pan have a history where the latter cut off Hook's hand and fed it to a crocodile, but we don't know much else about him. In Peter Pan, Captain Hook is a bit more skittish and comedic than other villains, so it is hard to believe that his upbringing was rooted in hatefulness.

Disney's latest remake, Peter Pan & Wendy, added an interesting wrinkle to Hook's backstory. It revealed that Hook and Peter Pan were actually once friends, but Hook went to go find his mother and grew up, which forced the two into becoming enemies. Exploring that dynamic, from Hook and Peter as young friends to their earliest days as sworn enemies, sounds like an exciting origin story.

4 Gaston — Beauty and the Beast

Any self-respecting woman would find Gaston's conceited and manipulative speech in Beauty and the Beast absolutely repulsive. While he is made to be the most handsome man that townswomen swoon over, Belle does not care for his empty promises and compliments for a moment. His confidence does make one question what he was like as a teenager.

Was he always naturally gifted, and that has gone to his head? Who were his parents or role models? Gaston's inability to accept the answer "no," is increasingly annoying, but fans cannot help but wonder if he was always like this.

3 Mother Gothel — Tangled

Mother Gothel may have the title in Tangled, but she is far from a loving motherly figure. She uses her intellect to manipulate situations and spin lies to seem like there is not a shred of doubt to be found. Though what she did to Rapunzel is unforgivable, her intelligence and ability to think on her feet make fans wonder about what she has been doing for the past couple hundred years. She was self-sufficient with the magical powers of the golden flower, so how was she spending her youthful time when she was not dependent on the imprisonment of a fair princess?

2 Lady Tremaine — Cinderella

Cinderella has a dozen modern variations, but the wicked stepmother character seems to always find her way into the film. In the original Cinderella, Lady Tremaine appears as a poised yet vengeful woman towards her stepdaughter. She has her own two daughters who are not as intelligent as herself, but they share their mother's wicked disdain for Cinderella.

Fans are curious to know if this has always been the dynamic in the family. Was she ever warm and forgiving towards her children? What made her so power-hungry that she would forgo her own daughter's wishes to marry a decent but common man? Lady Tremaine is subtle and secretive with the reprimands, but he is by no means soft-spoken.

1 Davy Jones - Pirates of the Caribbean

While Barbosa was the first villain in the Pirates of the Caribbean, Davy Jones is certainly the most memorable. The iconic villain of the series, appearing in both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, as well as an end-credits tease in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the octopus beard villain is one of cinema's most iconic.

He also has a fascinating backstory. The movie's reveals that he was just a normal pirate who fell in love with the sea goddess Calypso, and due to tragic circumstances, they were pulled apart, and he resented her. The story is meant to parallel the romance between Will and Elizabeth, so making a Davy Jones prequel could make for a tragic romance that Disney has never done. One that leads with a good man turning evil and could be their spin on a villain origin like Revenge of the Sith or A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.