Maleficent won the box office this past weekend, and Disney has quite a few live action versions of its famous stories being prepared, from Cinderella to a movie about Cruella de Vil. Business Insider suggests this new interest in live-action remakes, as well as villains, could turn into a new franchise for Disney. So the question is, which Disney villains deserve to have their stories told, and who should play them?
I’ve got a few ideas right here. I tried to choose the villains that haven’t been portrayed very often on screen, although a few of them have, either in live-action remakes or on Once Upon a Time. But you can never get enough of the Disney villains, right? Right. They’re the best. Actually they’re the worst. But they’re the best at being the worst. You get it.
1. Joel McHale as Hades from Hercules
I really need this to happen, because Hades is by far my favorite Disney villain. How could you not love him? He’s sarcastic and rocks a blue flame for hair. I’m imagining Joel with that flame hair and loving it.
2. Armie Hammer as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast
Gaston needs to be big and muscular and handsome and also a total arrogant asshole. Come on, Armie, you can do this. Show us those shiny teeth.
3. Octavia Spencer as Ursula from The Little Mermaid
I really want to know the sea witch’s backstory. How’d she get the ability to steal voices? What pet store did she buy Flotsam and Jetsam in? I think Octavia would totally nail it. And I feel like we haven’t seen her around enough since The Help.
4. Cillian Murphy as Sid from Toy Story
Come on, you know you want to know what happened to Sid after he tortured all those toys and then saw them come to life. And who better to play a creepy toy mutilator all grown up than the creeptastic Cillian Murphy?
5. Tilda Swinton as The Evil Stepmother from Cinderella
To be honest, I would watch Tilda Swinton play all these villains in the same movie, because she would totally nail it. And yes, Cate Blanchett’s already playing her in the new adaptation, and I’m sure she’ll be fab, but I don’t care. I need this.
6. Willem Dafoe as Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
I don’t know about you, but Frollo has always been the scariest Disney villain to me. So I asked myself who the scariest actor is. It’s Willem Dafoe. Always Willem Dafoe. This movie would probably scar me for life.
7. Rita Moreno as Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove
You might know Rita Moreno best from West Side Story or the time she dropped an F-bomb at the SAG Awards next to Morgan Freeman. I think she’d be a hilarious Yzma. Kronk should obviously just be Patrick Warburton, because he must have that voice.
8. Oded Fehr as Jafar from Aladdin
Once Upon a Time already had Naveen Andrews as a younger, hotter Jafar, but I need another one, dammit. And if you’ve seen The Mummy, there’s a 100% chance you fell in love with Oded Fehr.
9. Daniel Craig as Clayton from Tarzan
A muscular, sophisticated Englishman who can rock a mustache and play a pretty convincing douche? I think Daniel Craig could pull it off.