Everyone has a favorite Disney villain. Whether you prefer quiet confidence of Maleficent, the boastful swagger of Gaston, or the threatening gravitas of Scar, Disney villains have something for everyone intrigued by the darker side of the story.
Disney villains have captivated fans for decades, showing a different side of humanity from the straight-arrow protagonists. Disney's diverse and multifaceted villains have always been there to provide hair-raising conflict and killer villain musical numbers.
Although the villains we know have become much beloved, there were many other Disney villains no one got the chance to see on screen. As these fan-favorite Disney films developed, the antagonists changed over time. The familiar villains like Scar, Gaston, and Hades were eclipsed by other evil masterminds and schemers.
These threats would have changed these well-known movie plots considerably, possibly posing even greater threats for the heroes. The villains we know were already terrifying in their final forms, but some even more powerful villains were left behind in development.
What if Scar wasn't the brains of The Lion King's coup? What if the Genie had some powerful competition in Aladdin? These canceled villains show a glimpse into the stories we never saw.
Here are the 15 Canceled Disney Villains We Never Got To See.
The Fujitas (Big Hero 6)
The Fujitas were one of the most disappointing cuts from Big Hero 6. This all-female criminal gang acted as enforcers for the main villains.
Originally, Mr. Yama was the primary antagonist for the movie, running the city's underworld and making life difficult for the heroes, and the Fujitas were his henchmen. Later, when Yokai became the main antagonist, the Fujitas were part of a criminal legion Yokai put together.
Ultimately, the Fujitas and the criminal underworld were dropped from the plot of the movie. The Big Hero 6 filmmakers did hint that San Fransokyo's underworld still exists.
A woman resembling one of the Fujitas appeared in the bot fight scene in the final film. In future explorations of this world, we may still see the Fujitas. This concept for a roller-blading, flail-wielding female gang is too good to kept off-screen forever.
Banagi (The Lion King)
The Lion King is now synonymous with Jeremy Irons' intelligent, gravelly-voiced Scar, but in earlier versions of the script, the real threat was the hyena Banagi.
Banagi, prince of the hyenas, appeared in two different drafts of the story. In both versions, Banagi is the master manipulator behind Scar. Scar, merely a strong rogue lion, is controlled by Banagi, either through threats or persuasion.
Banagi and his hyenas personally kill Mufasa in one draft of the script. When Mufasa dies, Banagi installs Scar as the puppet king while he rules from the shadows. The returning Simba must defeat both Scar and Banagi.
Scar plays little role beyond brute strength in these drafts of the story, and Banagi's most interesting traits seemed to be blended into the character of Scar over time.
Xerek (The Incredibles)
In The Incredibles, the superhero family is forced back into the family business by the spurned sidekick Syndrome, but he was not the original threat they were facing.
The intended main antagonist was Xerek, a 200-year-old supervillain extending his own life. Xerek appeared in the early concept art, but over time producers favored the idea of Syndrome. Xerek was cut from the film entirely.
Although he has never appeared on screen, he was reused for an Incredibles comic book story. In the comic series, he is revealed to be an ex-boyfriend of Helen. When she learned of his criminal activities, he tried to use her in an experiment to extend his life.
The experiment backfired, making him appear his true age. In his long career, he amassed incredible resources and influence, making him a formidable antagonist.
Mick, Bowie, and Lemmy (The Emperor's New Groove)
Before The Emperor's New Groove became the best animated comedy to grace your developmental years, it was a story called The Kingdom of the Sun. This earlier story was a take-off on The Prince and The Pauper, with look-alike Kuzco and Pacha switching places. Some things did not change, though, and Yzma was still the main villain.
At this time, instead of Kronk, Yzma had three mummy henchmen who served her. The reanimated mummies would also serve as a form of comic relief, though accompanied by the terrifying visual of their undead corpses.
They would be similar to the hyenas of The Lion King, if The Lion King was also Night of the Living Dead. The mummies were called Mick, Bowie, and Lemmy, taking their names from rock stars Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Lemmy Kilmister.
Hera (Hercules)
Hercules featured Hades, god of the underworld, as the main antagonist. Hades crafted elaborate plans to kill Hercules and provided sassy commentary on the side.
However, any fan with a ing knowledge of Greek mythology knows that is not how the story was originally told. In most versions of Hercules legend, Zeus' wife Hera is the one trying to kill Hercules.
In the original myth, Zeus cheated on Hera with a human woman (among many others), and Hercules was born out of that relationship. Hera hated Hercules and made his life difficult at every turn when her efforts to kill him failed.
Director Ron Clements stated that "illegitimacy would be difficult subject matter for a Disney movie. So we thought of different ways he could be half-man and half-god. We moved more toward making Hades the villain instead of Hera."
The Snow Queen (Frozen)
The Disney hit Frozen was a story of sisterhood and learning to accept yourself, but originally it was a straight adaption of The Snow Queen. Walt Disney wanted to adapt the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale as early as the 1940s, but it proved too difficult to adapt until recently. The original story featured the villainous Snow Queen, unrelated to Anna, who wanted to freeze Anna's heart.
The sassy, singing Snow Queen was inspired by Bette Midler in the early concept stages, and Megan Mullally was going to voice the villainous Elsa.
Eventually, the songwriters and story team had a breakthrough in the script and decided Elsa would not be the true antagonist. The resulting multifaceted Elsa was a spectacular hit, but resembled the original fairy tale's Snow Queen very little.
Belle's Sisters (Beauty and the Beast)
The Belle we know in Beauty and the Beast is the only child of an eccentric inventor, but Belle originally had two scheming sisters. Before Gaston was settled as the main villain of the story, Belle's two jealous older sisters were the source of her problems.
Her sisters hated that suitors would come seeking to marry Belle. When their father was captured by the Beast, the sisters were content to leave him to his fate.
When the sisters later discovered the Beast's wealth, they developed a scheme with Belle's suitors to kill the Beast and steal his riches. The sisters and suitors finally found the Beast's treasures, but were caught by the Beast and forced to run as one of the suitors fatally wounded the Beast.
The story was later entirely reworked, and the sisters were discarded. Belle's suitors were combined into a single suitor, Gaston.
Gloom (Inside Out)
Inside Out surprised viewers with its realistic view of the depression and anxiety in young adulthood. The movie had no clear villain, focusing instead on the insecurities and mixed emotions present in everyone.
However, the depression so well portrayed in the film was originally personified in the form of Gloom. Gloom was supposed to be the main antagonist of the film.
As he becomes more important in Riley's mind, Gloom grows larger and larger. In the developmental story, Gloom would have tried to take over Riley's mind while stopping Joy from come back to Headquarters.
In the concept art, he is shown as a ghostly, oppressive figure that seeks to surround everything. Gloom may have also been allied with Sadness and Anger in some way in this version of the story.
Jabberwocky (Alice in Wonderland)
The Jabberwocky (or Jabberwock) is one of Lewis Carroll's most noted creations, so it makes perfect sense the famous monster was intended to appear in Alice in Wonderland.
The creature even had the song "Beware the Jabberwock" dedicated to it in the film. The dragon monster was supposed to appear after Alice left the tea party make its way to the palace of the Queen of Hearts.
Ultimately, both the Jabberwock and his song were cut from the film. He eventually did appear in other materials spinning off from the movie, but the version that appeared in the film was left behind.
Later versions of the Jabberwock portrayed it as a plain green dragon, leaving it forever a mystery of why the movie Jabberwock is wearing a purple sweater. How did it get the sweater? Where did it come from? The world may never know.
Buldeo (The Jungle Book)
The Jungle Book is best known for its broad cast of characters, from lovable Baloo to the merciless Shere Khan. The tiger Shere Khan was the main villain for Mowgli, but the movie was not short on secondary villains. Kaa the snake and King Louie also caused Mowgli a few problems. The movie almost added one more to its considerable number of villains.
The movie originally featured Buldeo, a hunter seeking the treasure of King Louie in Monkey City. The hunter even had a cut duet with Shere Khan called "The Mighty Hunters". The camaraderie of a shared duet apparently did not last long, though, as Shere Khan killed Buldeo.
Later, Mowgli would use Buldeo's gun to kill Shere Khan in a dramatic turnabout. However, Walt Disney and writer Bill Peet disagreed over the characters, and Buldeo was cut.
