10 Greatest Movie Villains of 2025, Ranked

While not every film that is released inherently needs a villainous figure to move the plot along or create conflict, a well-crafted villain can go a long way in terms of adding to the feel and memorability of a film's story and stakes. Some of the most layered and effective characters in cinematic history have played villainous roles in their plot, as fictional storytelling as a whole simply wouldn't be complete without villainous figures.

2025 has largely continued the trend of exceptional villains across filmmaking, having a large swath of different memorable villains to choose from across all different genres and styles of film. From strikingly dynamic original characters that burst off the screen and leave a powerful impression to exceptional adaptations that do great justice to their source material. It felt as if great villain characters were being put onto the big screen throughout the entire year, with the absolute best standing out as all-time villains for the ages.

10 The Major — 'The Long Walk'

A cold, unyielding force of authoritarian evil whose very presence strikes fear and compliance into those around him, The Major from The Long Walk is about as cutthroat and clear-cut as a dictator symbol as a character can get. Originating from the first story that Stephen King ever wrote, The Major's unyielding passion for strength and punctuality among the people he rules over makes him a terrifying force, further amplified by a great performance by Mark Hamill.

The overwhelming presence and influence that the Major has over this legion of young men, even when he doesn't appear on-screen, leave a lasting impact on the audience, helping make The Long Walk one of 2025's scariest films. The character is similar to many other evil authoritarian rulers in film history, yet with an increased focus on military and individual strength that makes him terrifyingly relevant to modern times.

9 Reze — 'Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc'

For the vast majority of villains in shōnen anime feature films, they serve little purpose or true character outside of being a non-canon mass of power for the heroes to overcome in a well-animated power struggle. However, the prospects of Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc being the actual next chapter of the Chainsaw Man story allows them to go all in and give fan-favorite villain Reze all the focus she needs to truly shine as a character.

Reze certainly has a lot of the inherent positives of other anime villains, with her explosive bomb devil powers creating many moments of sheer creativity and madness as she lays waste to people in her battles with Denji. However, it's her truly human connection and parallels to Denji that make her such an interesting villain, especially compared to the myriad of other villainous threats in the Chainsaw Man universe. Her story and connection with Denji is as much defined by conflict as it is tragedy, with the film perfectly adapting said dynamic story to film.

8 Varang — 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

The Avatar franchise already had a wildly impactful villain in the form of Stephen Lang's Miles Quaritch, though with the character increasingly moving towards a redemption arc, it made sense to implement another villain to mix things up. In comes Varang, the first true Na'vi villain of the franchise, who shows a unique perspective of Pandoran culture, leading a tribe of people abandoned by Eywa and living as ruthless marauders.

Played by Oona Chaplin, Varang quickly becomes the overwhelming highlight of Avatar: Fire and Ash, as a stark departure from the Na'vi characters that have been introduced up to this point. She acts as the more sadistic, violent version of what Neytiri was for Jake in the first film, with her growing dynamic and relationship with Quartich paralleling the original film in many intricate ways. This is all on top of her exceptional design and screen presence, with her moment in the tent with Quartich easily being one of the best sci-fi moments of 2025.

7 Bruce Tucker — 'Dangerous Animals'

It takes a lot of screen presence to be able to make a ruthless serial killer and masochistic torturer a compelling and electrifying character to watch on-screen, yet Dangerous Animals soars largely in part thanks to Jai Courtney's performance as Bruce Tucker. The character is about as straightforward as killers go motivation-wise, having an obsession with the power and domination of sharks, and positioning himself at the top of the pecking order by killing off those he believes to be weaker links.

Courtney finds the exact mixture of charm, unnerving, and at times aggravating to make a performance that entirely elevates and amplifies the torture-fueled rollercoaster. Whether he's dancing in a robe to Stevie Wright music or coyishly playing with his victims before feeding them to sharks, he's enjoying every second of being a sadistic monster, with his sense of fun feeling downright infectious to the audience.

6 Lex Luthor — 'Superman'

Being one of the most famous comic book villains of all time, Lex Luthor has been adapted to film and television a countless number of times, with a wide variety of levels of quality and respect for the character as each actor attempts to add their own style to the character's legacy. With the beginning of a new DC Universe in Superman, Nicholas Hoult's interpretation of the character proves to be one of the most enthralling and effective iterations of the character in years.

It brings together the best elements of previous iterations of Lex combined with the manic personalities of power in the modern age, to create the definitive modern interpretation of the timeless supergenius CEO. The area where Hoult truly excels in portraying the character is that of his sheer hatred for the Man of Steel, with his anger being shown off in full display in some of the film's best moments.

5 Milton Rockwell — 'Marty Supreme'

The ruthless businessman with overwhelming power and influence over the world around him is one of the most timeless and effective villains in film history. Marty Supreme takes the extra step in casting a real-life cutthroat businessman in Kevin O'Leary, to play Milton Rockwell in the film. One of many roadblocks yet potential pathways in Marty's journey to ping-pong greatness, O'Leary truly taps into his Shark Tank experience to help bring to life a ruthless, no-nonsense asshole of a businessman.

While initially seen as a potential avenue for success by Marty, Milton's true colors as a villain show when he becomes Marty's final and only option to return to Japan, with Milton taking joy in abusing the power that he holds over Marty and his dreams. He does a lot to dehumanize and humiliate Marty at each opportunity at this point, setting the stage for his failure for his own financial profits while screwing over Marty in the process. He's the embodiment of every terrible business partner that people have had to deal with, yet this sheer unlikability is what makes him such an effective character.

4 Jefferson Wicks — 'Wake Up Dead Man'

The Knives Out franchise has always been peculiar with its twisting of whodunit conventions and story structure in being able to make a compelling murder mystery, with Wake Up Dead Man having the unique approach of making its primary victim also its greatest villain. While there's still a traditional culprit villain responsible for the murder of Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), the toxic influence that Wicks holds over his congregation, even after his death, is an allure of villainy that persists throughout the entire film.

It also helps that the film spends a large chunk of its runtime not only setting up the impact and weight of Wicks as a character in the months leading up to his death, but also various layers and scenes of his influence after his death. Audiences are given the full picture of Wicks' aggressive and hateful character, fueled by ego, anger, and even greed, as he makes the lives of his congregation's regulars worse by playing into their most toxic traits.

3 Gladys — 'Weapons'

An instant icon of the horror genre that stole the show in a film absolutely filled to the brim with great characters, the gleefully despicable Aunt Gladys from Weapons is a perfect mixture of camp and pure evil that audiences fell in love with. With the character initially being shrouded in mystery and the focus of dream sequence jump scares, audiences are soon given the full picture of Gladys as she uses dark magic to create a string of deaths and mass manipulation.

So much of the weight and impact of Gladys as a character can be credited to the exceptional supporting performance by Amy Madigan, who shifts from innocent, sweet old lady to stern, unflinching monster as if it's second nature. She absolutely defines the film after she is introduced, bringing the exact elements of comedy and horror that embody the brilliance of Zach Cregger's horror filmmaking.

2 Col. Steven Lockjaw — 'One Battle After Another'

Sean Penn has been no stranger to playing villains in films in the past, most notably portraying effective villains in the likes of Gangster Squad and Carlito's Way, yet he completely redefines himself in a now essential Penn film as Col. Steven Lockjaw in One Battle After Another. The corrupt U.S. military colonel is the sworn enemy of the French 75 vigilante group, finding himself in a bloodhunt for remaining members as he ties up all loose ends in an attempt to join the secret white supremacist society, The Christmas Adventurers.

The film arguably gives as much focus to Lockjaw's struggles and attempts to join The Christmas Adventurers as its main heroes, giving the audience a deeper look into the fragmented corruption, hypocrisy, and evil that inhabit the character. For all the terrible things that he does throughout the film, he never stops being deeply compelling to watch, being a layered character quick to abandon all morals and commit countless despicable acts to achieve his goals.

1 Remmick — 'Sinners'

While several of the other villain characters in 2025 have sported performances that will easily see them be nominated at the Academy Awards, no singular movie villain of 2025 was quite as infectiously effective and entertaining in their film quite like Remmick in Sinners. Jack O'Connell's portrayal of a music-driven Irish vampire provides the perfect dynamic and depth to the time period and story being told, easily standing as one of the most original portrayals of a vampire villain in modern film history.

It would be so easy to simply make the white vampire villain in this primarily black cast of characters nothing more than an evil racist in his motivation. Yet Remmick's past of persecution from being a victim of Irish genocide allows him to actually relate and connect with the heroes, with him offering vampirism as a tool for revenge and immortalized culture. All of this thematic brilliance is on top of him being an incredibly entertaining villain, with O'Connell giving a great performance as the character is a blast to watch on-screen. Even as the rest of the decade goes on, it's easy to imagine Remmick continuing to be in the conversation as a true all-timer villain.