7 Movie villains who faced their downfall as their plans backfired 

Movie villains are as important as the heroes in moving the story forward. Their elaborate plans to defeat the protagonists are a driving force as important as the protagonists' fight to survive those attempts.

Most of the time, these movie villains have the best-curated plans that make it difficult for the protagonist to win. But there are other times that, in their grand plan, they end up making a mistake that hampers their own plan and gives an opportunity to the protagonist to defeat the plans of the movie villains.

Here’s a list of 7 such movie villains whose plans to defeat the protagonists backfired, resulting in their own downfall.

Disclaimer: This entire article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

---

7 Movie villains who faced their downfall as their plans backfired

7) Scar (The Lion King)

Scar might be one of the most popular Disney movie villains, whose elaborate plan to become the king led him to kill his own brother, Mufasa. Furthermore, this prompted Simba to run to save his life from his uncle, leaving the pride to Scar, who could easily become the next king.

However, he himself caused his own downfall when he revealed how Mufasa died in front of Simba, giving him a newfound strength to fight and defeat Scar, only because he himself shared something that was not required and caused his own downfall.

---

6) Richmond Valentine (Kingsman: The Secret Service)

Richmond Valentine’s plan was to cull most of humanity by using a phone signal that would turn them into maniacs, and they would die violently, killing each other. However, his plan of implanting the head-exploding chips in his co-conspirators and his allies was what brought his downfall, as the immunity plan didn’t succeed.

At the end, the plan was used against him when Mark Strong’s Merlin activated the chips’ failsafe, resulting in the explosion of the heads of Valentine’s allies and also his guards, leaving him vulnerable. This allowed the Kingsman to catch him and stop the psychosomatic phone signal that had wreaked havoc around the world.

---

5) Mayor Bellwether (Zootopia)

In Zootopia, Mayor Bellwether is one of those movie villains whose overconfidence becomes her own downfall when she reveals her own plan. After injecting the predators with the serum made by the Midnicampum flowers, which makes them savage due to the psychotropic effects of the flowers. Bellwether becomes the new mayor after Lionheart is accused of turning the predators into ferals.

However, as Judy and Nick investigate, they find the serum but are confronted by Bellwether, who reveals her own plan, which they record, proving that it was all her plan, and she gets arrested at the end.

---

4) Hector Barbossa (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)

In the whole Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl movie, Barbossa planned to break the curse of his ship’s crew, who have lived for so long as undead creatures, without feeling pleasure or pain. Now, they wanted to become mortal.

To do so, they have to return all the gold by offering blood from the members of the crew. At the end, they are able to break the curse and become mortal, as Will Turner returns the last medallion just at the right moment so that Jack could kill Barbossa, failing his plan altogether as he dies at the end.

---

3) Santino D'Antonio (John Wick: Chapter 2)

Santino from John Wick was one of the movie villains who brought their own demise with their failed plans. He asked John Wick to kill his sister to be able to have a seat at the high table, and John had to reluctantly accept it due to being bound by a marker.

However, even after John kills his sister, he attempts to get him murdered by his men, beginning a fight that eventually kills him after contacting and giving John orders to kill his sister.

---

2) Ransom Drysdale (Knives Out)

Harlan’s death and the investigation to catch the real killer were a task worth remembering for Benoit Blanc in Knives Out. The film also gave us one of the movie villains who caused his own demise by calling Blanc to investigate the murder and frame Marta.

However, even after trying to frame Marta by doing everything, such as burning the medical examiner’s office, which would have proved Marta’s innocence in the case, he still ended up confessing to his own crimes at the end, bringing about his own demise.

---

1) Voldemort (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2)

Voldemort had been planning to end Harry’s life since he came back in his mortal form. With the intention of owning the Elder Wand by letting Draco disarm Dumbledore, as Voldemort wanted, and become the owner of the wand. This would have been easy for him to own the wand after Draco Malfoy.

However, later, when Harry disarms Draco in Malfoy Manor after being captured by Bellatrix Lestrange in Deathly Hallows Part 1, the ownership of the Elder wand changes to him. Therefore, in the last battle between the two, Voldemort ends up using a wand against his owner, making its magic weak, which results in his death, making him one of the movie villains who faced their own downfall after their plans backfired.

---

Keep reading Soap Central for more such stories.

Also Read: 5 new K-dramas to watch out for in June 2025: Squid Game 3, Head Over Heels, and more