Hollywood Needs to Stop Glamorizing Villains. This Writer Explains Why.
By Movieguide® Contributor
Writer and producer Vince Gilligan warned against creating media that glamorizes villains, explaining how that can lead people to emulate their actions in real life.
Gilligan made his warning while being recognized for his work at the Writer’s Guild Awards. He is best known for glamorizing a villain himself — being one of the creatives behind BETTER CALL SAUL — but wishes he could have made a more positive impact on society through the stories he has told.
“All things being equal, I think I’d rather be celebrated for creating someone a bit more inspiring,” he said while accepting his achievement award. “In 2025, it’s time to say that out loud, because we are living in an era where bad guys, the real-life kind, are running amuck. Bad guys who make their own rules, bad guys who on matter what they tell you, are only out for themselves…the weird irony in our profoundly divided country [is] everybody seems to agree on one thing: there are too many real-life bad guys, it’s just we’re living in different realities so we’ve all got different lists.”
READ MORE: ARE VILLAINS REDEEMABLE? A TEACHABLE MOMENT BEHIND THE SCENES OF MARVEL’S ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
“As a writer, speaking to a room full of writers, I have a proposal; it certainly won’t fix everything but I think it’s a start. I say we write more good guys,” he continued. “For decades we made the villains too sexy…viewers everywhere, all around the world, pay attention. They say…I want to be that cool. When that happens, fictional bad guys stop being the precautionary tales they were intended to be. God help us, they’ve become aspirational…Maybe what the world needs now are some good, old-fashioned, greatest generation types who give more than they take.”
He pointed to beloved and enduring characters like George Bailey from IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and Andy Taylor from THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW as figures writers should aspire to create.
“If I had created them, I’d be proud, indeed,” he added.
These comments are extremely poignant as villains have become the protagonist in all too many stories. From Gilligan’s BETTER CALL SAUL to THE JOKER, audiences have been conditioned to relate with villains.
It is encouraging to see somebody who has profited off the popularity of villains call for a change and admit that they wish they could leave a more positive impact on both viewers and the industry, rather than contributing to the problem. This is especially important in kids entertainment as children may not understand that the main character can be a bad guy.
READ MORE: HOW MALEFICENT FAILS CHILDREN: WHEN VILLAINS BECOME HEROES
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