Dear Disney, These Are the Villain Origin Stories We Want!

Over the years, Disney storytellers have created some of the most memorable characters we’ve ever seen.

From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Peter Pan (1953), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), Frozen (2013), Moana (2016), and so many more, Disney has changed the way we watch movies. Their characters have become a part of who we are and have helped inspire the Disney theme parks that we know and love.

While many of those characters are heroes and princesses, Disney has also created some of the most legendary villains we have ever seen. And they have become just as popular as the heroes they are defeated by. Some people even love the villains MORE than the heroes or princesses.

Now, we have seen what happened to some of Disney’s most classic villains AFTER they were taken down. In 2015, Disney released Descendants, which told the story of the children of the Evil Queen, Maleficent, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil. In this film, audiences learn that the villains had been sent off to live in a place called Isle of the Lost.

But we want to know what happened BEFORE they were defeated by some of Disney’s most legendary heroes. So, Disney, here are some villain origin stories that we would love to see!

Ursula – The Little Mermaid

Ursula is easily one of Disney’s most iconic villains. First introduced in the 1989 animated film, Ursula has gone on to make her mark in Disney history. Her fashion, her sass, her “no one messes with me” attitude, and her magical ability — Ursula has it all. And some might even argue that she is not the bad one in The Little Mermaid, she was merely enforcing a contract that Ariel willingly signed.

In the movie, Ursula comments on when she lived in the palace where King Triton, Ariel, and her sisters currently reside. That would lead us to believe that she is some part of the royal family.

So, why did she get thrown out? What did she do? Did Triton steal the throne from her?

There are so many questions to be answered, so creating a Disney movie based on the life Ursula had before the events of The Little Mermaid would be incredible. Disney did create a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid in 2023, but did not really go any deeper into Ursula’s story.

Related: Hilarious Grandma Calls Iconic Disney Villain a “Victim”

But what a backstory it would be to explore!

Scar – The Lion King

Along with creating one of Disney’s most memorable villains, Disney also created one of its most iconic villain songs. Scar, the brother of Mufasa in Disney’s 1994 film The Lion King, sings “Be Prepared.” And, let’s be honest, 30 years later, that song still gives us goosebumps.

Now, we will get to see some of Scar’s backstory in Disney’s new live-action movie, Mufasa: The Lion King, when it hits theaters this December. However, that story will focus more on Mufasa. But how amazing would it be if we could get a story that is solely about Scar?

Related: Do You Want to Be Evil? Disney’s BEST Villain Songs!

Disney has made some huge changes to the original Lion King storyline. In the original animated film, Scar says that he is Mufasa’s younger brother and that he is supposed to be king. However, in Mufasa: The Lion King, Disney has decided to make Mufasa an orphan who is adopted into Scar’s family, and Scar is older than Mufasa.

So, it appears that Scar’s family is part of the royal bloodline in the pride.

Depending on which storyline Disney decides to follow, exploring how Scar got to where he is would be fascinating. This is especially true because in the books (and the new movie), before he earned the nickname “Scar,” his name was Taka. In Swahili, that name literally means “waste,” so Scar’s family thought that he was trash.

Why in the heck do they feel that way about him? What did he do? Was it him, or were his parents awful lions who didn’t know how to love their cub?

Related: Fans Blast Kim Kardashian Over Viral ‘Lion King’ Performance

We need answers, and we need them now! Give us this villain origin story, Disney!

Dr. Facilier – The Princess and the Frog

In 2009, Disney released the hit animated film The Princess and the Frog. That movie not only introduced viewers to Disney’s first black princess — Princess Tiana — but it also introduced a Disney villain who practiced Voodoo Magic — Dr. Facilier.

The decision to introduce voodoo magic into a Disney film has been controversial, and some Disney fans were not thrilled about it. But Disney took that magic and infused it with bright colors and a kick-butt song, “Friends on the Other Side.”

Related: Disney Leaves Big Character Out of New Splash Mountain Retheme

Voodoo magic has been around since the seventeenth century, evolving from various tribal religions on the African continent. So, it could be really interesting to find out more about the type of voodoo that Dr. Facilier practices. How did he become involved with voodoo? Who taught it to him? That would give Disney the potential to introduce even more diverse and compelling characters.

Also, how did Dr. Facilier meet his “friends” on the other side? In the film, he indicates that this is not the first time they have helped him. Audiences are also led to believe that he might owe them something, which is why they drag him down with them at the end. There is great potential for intriguing stories here, and Disney should definitely consider taking a shot at it.

Captain Hook – Peter Pan

Okay, so this one is slightly tricky, but not totally impossible.

Many Disney fans might remember the hit ABC show Once Upon a Time, which premiered in 2011 and ran for seven seasons, ending in 2018. Once Upon a Time told the story of Emma Swan, a young woman whose life is turned upside down when the son she gave up for adoption turns up at her doorstep.

Related: ‘Once Upon a Time’ Star Tragically Dead at 48

When Emma returns her son, Henry, to his home in Storybrooke, Maine, she quickly realizes something is off. Eventually, she learns that the town is full of classic fairy tale characters who have forgotten who they are because of a curse from the Evil Queen. Emma and Henry work to break the curse, and Emma learns that she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.

Once Upon a Time is full of nearly every Disney character you can think of, including Captain Hook. And Hook (AKA Killian) did become a major character, and his backstory was revealed. However, his backstory was one that fit Once Upon a Time, not one that fit into Disney’s 1953 animated film, Peter Pan.

Related: New ‘Peter Pan’ Set to Take Audiences on a Multicultural Journey

In Once Upon a Time, Hook is the son of Peter Pan, and the crocodile is a metaphorical one — Rumpelstiltskin.

While it was really fun to see Hook reimagined on a great show, it’s not the story a lot of Disney fans would like to see. It would be so great if Disney gave us the backstory of the animated version of Captain Hook. Show him in his younger days, maybe even before he became captain of the Jolly Roger.

How did Hook become Captain? Who was captain of the Jolly Roger before him? And we DEFINITELY need to know the history between Hook and Tick-Tock Croc. We need to know how he lost his hand!

Jafar – Aladdin

First a royal vizier, then a powerful sorcerer, finally an all-powerful Genie. That, you may recognize, is the storyline of Jafar, from Disney’s Aladdin franchise. Of course, he forgot that being an all-powerful genie came with enormous power, but itty-bitty living space.

Not much is known about Jafar, and it could really be fun if Disney decided to explore the Disney villain’s rise to power. And, of course, was he always evil? Or did something happen to make him evil? The ability to amass power can be a big driving force.

The city of Agrabah does not seem to be a very wealthy place, so is Jafar from there? Was he a poor boy like Aladdin, or was he born into a family of wealth and privilege? Did they know the Sultan and that is how Jafar got his position within the palace? Knowing Jafar, he probably sabotaged the person who had the position before him.

Disney could also use his villain origin story to talk about Jafar’s relationship with Jasmine. Has he known her since she was a child? We know he wanted to use her to gain power, but is he also attracted to her? Did he try to win her affections and she turned him down?

Related: How Bad Are They? Disney’s Most Empathetic Villains

Which leads to even more questions about Jafar’s personal life. Was he ever married?

Jafar is a Disney villain that we know so little about that there is so much room to expand upon his story.

Gaston – Beauty and the Beast

Okay, this one might be a little bit of a stretch because there is not much depth to Gaston. He literally sings about how amazing, strong, and good-looking he is, and then asks Belle how she can read a book without pictures. So, we know that he isn’t very smart, but he doesn’t seem to care about that. And his only real interests are hunting and marrying Belle.

In order to expand upon Gaston’s backstory, we have to take a closer look at Disney’s 2017 remake of its classic animated film, Beauty and the Beast.

In the remake, Gaston and LeFou are riding along and Gaston makes a comment that “since the war”, he hasn’t been able to feel settled and feel complete.

That immediately begs the question, what war is he talking about? And what kind of person was Gaston before he experienced the horrors of war? Did he lose a lot of friends and comrades? What about his family, were they affected by the war?

Related: Disney Takes Another Hit; Loses Major ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Lawsuit

Gaston could have a very complicated backstory that could be riveting to explore.

Now, Disney was planning on giving both Gaston and LeFou a backstory in a prequel series. In 2020, Disney announced the series, which would focus on Gaston and LeFou before they came to Belle’s “provincial town.” Luke Evans and Josh Gad were even set to return as Gaston and LeFou, respectively. Audiences would even get to meet LeFou’s stepsister, Tilly.

Sadly, the series — called Little Town — was put on indefinite hold in 2022. According to reports, Disney did not like the script, written by Once Upon a Time creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. They also allegedly had issues with the music Disney legend Alan Menken was creating for the show. All of these issues reportedly led to screaming matches behind the scene.

Disney was willing to give us Gaston’s villain origin story once, and we think they should go through with it!

Disney’s Previous Origin Stories

These villain origin stories would not be the first time Disney dug deep into some of its most well-known bad guys.

In 2014, actress Angelina Jolie stunned as Maleficent, an origin story of the iconic Sleeping Beauty villain. Disney went incredibly far back into Maleficent’s childhood, showing her friendship with the king, her innocence growing up, and how that was stripped away from her. Audiences enjoyed the fresh take on one of Disney’s oldest villains.

Related: Here’s How To Order a Maleficent Frappuccino From Starbucks

In 2019, Jolie returned to the Sleeping Beauty story in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and that was even more successful than the first film. The original Maleficent film has a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but Maleficent: Mistress of Evil has a whopping 95% rating.

If you think a 95% audience rating is good, then we should tell you about Disney’s other villain origin story that has an incredible 97% audience score!

In 2021, audiences got to see the origin of one of Disney’s most fashionable villains, Cruella De Vil. The film was supposed to be released in Deember 2020 but, because of the pandemic, Disney delayed it until May 2021.

Emma Stone played Estella, the young girl who would transform into the woman who would have a song named after her. With this movie, Disney took a very dark tone and introduced, perhaps, one of its darkest villains ever. And we are not talking about Estella/Cruella. We are talking about the Baroness Von Hellman.

The Baroness was Estella’s biological mother, who gave her away without a second thought. Then, she murdered the woman who raised Estella. Once she found out who Estella was, she tried to kill her too! All while Estella/Cruella was building her fashion empire and making a name for herself.

Cruella was a lot, but it was close to perfection. So close that Disney is currently working on a sequel film, with Emma Stone slated to return to the acclaimed role.

There are so many great villains that the world is at Disney’s feet. Villain origin stories would allow Disney to create exciting new, original stories while bringing back characters that audiences love to hate.

What Disney villain do you think deserves an origin story? Let us know in the comments!