History AdaptationalVillainy / LiveActionFilms

** In ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', the PteroSoarer kaiju Rodan is depicted as an outright antagonist, siding with King Ghidorah and becoming TheDragon to him after being defeated by him. Notably, Rodan in previous films has often been depicted as Godzilla's ally, or the very least a neutral figure playing off as a TokenEvilTeammate. [[spoiler: At the end, though, Rodan joins Godzilla's side after Ghidorah is defeated.]] Speaking of which, King Ghidorah himself is much more vile than he was in the original Toho version, being a direct SatanicArchetype who goes out of his way to try and kill a small girl who crossed him.

* Harry Warden in ''Film/MyBloodyValentine3D'' compared to [[Film/MyBloodyValentine the original]]. The original Harry was motivated by a desire to avenge himself and his fellow miners, as he was the only one to survive the cave-in, all the other miners were killed instantly. Harry only killed the two men he blamed for the cave-in. The Harry in the remake is motivated by selfishness and sadism, as other miner survive the cave in, and Harry kills them himself to preserve his own air. After awakening from his coma, Harry massacres an entire hospital consisting mostly of invalid patients and (according to news reports) children, all seemingly for no reason.

* AdaptationalVillainy/MarvelCinematicUniverse

** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] but in ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2014''. Two of Belle's brothers betray their sister's trust by leading the bandit villain Perducas to the Beast's castle to plunder it, which didn't happen in the original story. Additionally, the Beast himself gets this due his backstory getting changed, [[spoiler:with him being cursed due to him ruthlessly hunting and killing the golden doe which turned out (unbeknownst to him) to be his then wife Astrid in deer form, as she was the nymph daughter of the god of the forest, in contrast to the original story, in which an evil fairy tries to seduce the Prince and curses him into a beast in retaliation for him rejecting her]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Beowulf|2007}}'': The film adaptation of [[Literature/{{Beowulf}} the classical tale]] portrayed Beowulf as being seduced by Grendel's mother, lying about it, [[spoiler: and having the dragon with her]]. Also, King Hrothgar is [[spoiler: Grendel's father]], something he wasn't in the original poem. The film seems to interpret the original epic poem as having been written by Beowulf himself (or at least based on his testimony), and that he was an UnreliableNarrator.
* ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast''
** In most versions of the story have a rival suitor, said suitor is usually a boorish idiot. Even more sinister versions, like [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Gaston]], are more stupid than malicious. However, Sven of ''Film/BloodOfBeasts'' uses the Beast as a way to do a coup on his kingdom.
** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] but in ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2014'' two of Belle’s brothers betray their sister’s trust by leading the bandit villain Perducas to the Beast’s castle to plunder it, which didn’t happen in the original story. Additionally the Beast himself gets this due his backstory getting changed [[spoiler:with him being cursed due to him ruthlessly hunting and killing the golden doe which turned out (unbeknownst to him) to be his then wife Astrid in deer form as she was the nymph daughter of the god of the forest. In contrast to the original story where an evil fairy tries to seduce the Prince and upon rejecting her she curses him into a beast in retaliation.]]

* ''Film/{{Cinderella 2015}}'': In [[WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} the animated film]], the Duke was a bumbling minion to the boisterous king. In this film, the Duke is a schemer more closely mirroring Lady Tremaine, and who wants the Prince to marry based on politics rather than on love. That said, he's definitely more honourable than Lady Tremaine, and it's worth noting that he has clearly the kingdom's welfare in mind. While a schemer to achieve his ends, the novelization states that [[WellIntentionedExtremist he is looking out for the kingdom and the king]].

* ''[[Literature/TheBooksOfEmber City Of Ember]]'': As awful as Cole is in the books, he at least takes his cronies with him while trying to escape the city, while in the film he knocks down Looper and locks him out of the vault with their stashed food despite Looper begging for shelter and reminding Cole that the mayor promised him a spot.
* Medusa is very much a DesignatedVillain in the first ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|1981}}''. [[Film/ClashOfTheTitans2010 The remake]] increases her villainy by having her cackling cruelly, clearly enjoying murdering Perseus's comrades. Likewise taking her head is the second option, as the soldiers first say that she can't be reasoned with. Oddly enough the movie also paints her as a TragicMonster -- with Io revealing her sympathetic backstory.

*** [[spoiler: In the comics, [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]]'s daughter [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia Al-Ghul]] is a gray-shaded character constantly going between AntiHero and AntiVillain, and has sincere feelings for Batman. In the film, Talia is a flat-out villain with none of the moral conflicts she has in the comics, instead being just as much of a KnightTemplar as her father. And her feelings for Batman are revealed to have been all an act: she never loved him, she loved Bane.]]
*** Characters/{{Ba|tmanBane}}ne himself, possibly, depending on whether you think the version that occasionally verges on NobleDemon but doesn't care about anyone but himself is more or less evil than the nihilistic destroyer with the bomb who [[spoiler: serves the League of Shadows]]

* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
** In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Batman outright intended to kill Superman before he could even become a threat. In one of the movie's major influences, ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman merely intends to beat Superman up and other stories have Batman come up with non-lethal countermeasures in dealing with a rogue Superman. [[spoiler: The combination of Superman mentioning the name [[MeaningfulName "Martha"]], the subsequent PTSD episode where he recalls the death of his parents, and Lois explaining who Martha Kent is and [[IHaveYourWife what's going on]] is what snapped him out of his murderous rage.]]

*** Rick Flag undergo this as in the comic, he is one of the more moral officials and members of the Squad in the DC Universe. [[spoiler: In the film, he is willing to look the other way when he sees Waller gunning down her staff. ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' amends this as Rick is horrified upon discovering America’s part in Project Starfish and immediately turns against Waller, refusing to be a blind puppet for the government.]]
*** [[Characters/SuicideSquadSupportStaff Amanda Waller]] herself, in the comics she's a flawed and militant figure but she still does genuinely care about saving innocent lives and forming shady organisations like the ComicBook/SuicideSquad can be seen as an extreme case of GoodIsNotNice on her part. In the film any affable traits Waller has are removed, her GeneralRipper traits are dialed [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] and she's willingly to personally gun down all her employees in cold blood so they don’t see classified information. Waller only gets worse in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' as she’s willingly to make sure Bloodsport’s teenager daughter will go to prison and die, just so he’ll be more willingly to go on the mission. [[spoiler: She’s also okay with letting thousands of innocent lives in Corto Maltese be killed by Starro and she attempts activate the squad’s [[ExplosiveLeash explosives chips]] when they decide to disobey orders and [[BigDamnHeroes save the day]], only to be knocked unconscious by her staff who are sick of her awfulness.]]
** ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'': In the comics, Black Manta's father was a boat captain who helped his son hunt for treasure, and who was accidentally killed by an enraged Aquaman. In the movie, he's instead introduced as a ruthless pirate and killer, and his death is arguably his own fault (as he ends up pinned underneath a torpedo after fighting Aquaman during a botched submarine hijacking).
** In ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'' [[Characters/BlackCanary Dinah Laurel Lance]] willingly works for AxCrazy {{sadist}} Black Mask at his club, something she would never do in the comics. She does a HeelFaceTurn to the side of good though.
** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': The Mother Boxes were simply a PlotDevice in the 2017 theatrical cut. In this version of the film, they are revealed to be malevolent ArtifactsOfDoom more akin to [[EvilCounterpart Father Boxes]], as seen when they try to tempt Cyborg into joining Darkseid.

*** One of the new members of the team is T.D.K., who turns out to be [[spoiler:a loose adaptation of Arm-Fall-Off-Boy from the ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'']]. Though he appears to be AffablyEvil at worst, as, despite being a convicted criminal, he is shown to be pretty friendly and polite.
*** [[spoiler:Peacemaker is still a vigilante like his comic counterpart, but this version of the character turns out to be TheMole for [[Characters/SuicideSquadSupportStaff Amanda Waller]], and kills Rick Flag while acting on orders from Waller to destroy all evidence of America's involvement in Project Starfish.]]

* ''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'':

* ''Film/DragonBallEvolution'':
** Mai gets this along with AdaptationalBadass. In the [[Manga/DragonBall source material]] she’s a fairly HarmlessVillain, just like her pathetic boss Emperor Pilaf and she’s terrified of actually evil characters like King Piccolo. In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' Mai actually heels turns to good and becomes Trunks’s {{Love Interest|s}}. In the film Mai is a ruthless DarkChick loyal to Piccolo who’s willing to shoot a cowering mother and child, she doesn’t show any good qualities like her manga and anime version.
** Goku himself gets this in a roundabout way. [[spoiler: To explain in the film it’s revealed in the climax he is Oozaru, the monster henchmen of Piccolo who turned into a human baby and was found and raised by Gohan. In the show “Oozaru” is just a Saiyan race transformation Goku ([[PlanetOfCopyhats and all Saiyans]]) go through [[{{Lunacy}} at the full moon]] and Goku despite his warrior race heritage was always [[AllLovingHero good]] thanks to Gohan’s [[UpbringingMakesTheHero upbringing]], [[InTheBlood inherited compassion]] from his kind hearted mother Gine and hitting his head and getting EasyAmnesia for good measure. In the film, it appears Oozaru is Goku’s true evil nature before he regained his humanity through Roshi’s dying words]].

* ''Film/{{Elektra}}'': Unlike the title character, [[AdaptationalHeroism who received the opposite of this trope]] in Film/{{Daredevil}}, Stone is a member of the Hand as opposed to a loyal devotee of the Chaste.

* ''Film/JurassicPark'':
** Donald Gennaro the lawyer, while a bit of a {{Jerkass}}, is reasonably brave; he volunteers for several dangerous missions, he goes on to punch out a ''Velociraptor'' at one point, becomes TheLancer to Alan Grant (and survives). In the film, Gennaro is a DirtyCoward who abandons any concerns about the park's safety and readiness once he realizes how lucrative it could be and gets bitten in half by a T-Rex while sitting on a toilet. The movie version of Gennaro inherited all his worst traits (including his depraved cowardice and his violent death) from the character Ed Regis, who appeared in the novel but not the movie. So he's actually a twofer--Adaptational Villainy combined with CompositeCharacter.
** In the book, Dennis Nedry had a reason for [[spoiler: sabotaging the park and stealing the dinosaur DNA]] beyond sheer {{greed}}: [=InGen=] had essentially blackmailed him into adding extensive modifications to their already-extensive computer systems for no pay. In the movie, he's given no such justification and is in it for the money, being essentially an unscrupulous backstabber who is open to bribes. Though the book's explanation is given a nod when Dennis warns Dodgson, "Don't get cheap on me. That was Hammond's mistake."

* ''Film/{{Lady and the Tramp|2019}}'': Downplayed. In this version, Elliot is hell-bent on capturing Tramp and strays out of normal procedures, such as barging in on the Darlings to do so. [[spoiler:However, when they adopt him at the end, he drops the issue without argument.]]
* ''Series/LandOfTheLost'': In the original TV show, Enik the Altrusian was [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold gruff and somewhat self-centered]], but was otherwise a good guy and helped the main characters when they needed it, in contrast to his more vicious Sleestak relatives. In the [[Film/LandOfTheLost 2009 live-action]] [[TheFilmOfTheSeries movie]], he is a ManipulativeBastard and murderer who wiped out his own people, tries to TakeOverTheWorld with an army of mind-controlled Sleestaks, and briefly tricks the main characters into helping him do so.

* In the original film of ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors'', Mr. Mushnik is one of the main viewpoint characters, a somewhat ridiculous but very likable small business owner, and one of the best representatives of that movie's extremely Jewish humour. In the [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors stage musical adaptation]], Mushnik is a little more morally ambiguous, but still basically a decent guy doing the best he can in a very bad situation, and his murder is treated as [[MoralEventHorizon the moment Seymour really crosses the line and becomes a bad guy]]. In the [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors movie of the musical]], however, Seymour is [[AdaptationalHeroism portrayed a lot more sympathetically]], which means that Mushnik gets a dose of this trope: he's a greedy, abusive boss who tries to blackmail Seymour over a previous ([[KickTheSonOfABitch not entirely unjustified]]) murder. Notably, this version of Mushnik is a lot less Jewish than previous incarnations.

* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'':
*** The book version of Denethor was a complicated man with genuine wisdom and virtues, who had reasons for his obstructionism and harmful decisions--secretly, he had access to a ''palantír'' of his own, which Sauron had used to fool him into despair and [[JumpedOffTheSlipperySlope increasing madness]] with disinformation. The film was obliged to skip these details, and the character looked far more malignant and callous as a result. His favoritism of Boromir and his dislike for Faramir are also much more blatant, and he's much more hostile towards the latter.
*** In a case that's more Adaptational [[AntiHero Anti-Heroism]], Faramir, although on the good side in both, is more antagonistic towards the hobbits in the film version of ''The Two Towers'' than he was in the book. He also falls under the Ring's spell in the movie - in the book, he's smart enough to know that anything made by Sauron is probably dangerous, and is one of the only human characters to reject the Ring. WordOfGod says it was because they didn't have enough time to do the complex character development that scene would require to explain why Faramir is able to refuse without even being tempted.
*** In the books, Saruman does not seek a sincere alliance with Sauron, merely to give the impression of one until he can take the One Ring for himself and then use it against Mordor. He can hardly be called a good guy, but at least he doesn't support the current Dark Lord -- rather, he wants to take Sauron's place. The films turn Saruman into a sincere ally of Sauron who has completely gone over to the latter's side.
*** Ugluk, Saruman's Uruk-hai leader, while evil in the book as well, is shown to have a code of honor, believes himself to be heroic, and is very offended at the thought of eating orc flesh. In the movie adaptation, Ugluk's EvenEvilHasStandards moments are cut, as opposed to disdaining cannibalism, in the film Ugluk gleefully kills and eats one of his men.
** ''Film/TheHobbit''
*** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', the Master of Laketown is a greedy, corrupt coward but doesn't actively get in Bard's way. In ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'', he is more openly antagonistic towards Bard, who he sees as a rival, to the point of locking him up while the dragon is approaching the town.
*** Thranduil/The Elvenking, while more a {{Jerkass}} than a villain, has his unpleasant and [[FantasticRacism racist]] side played up to the hilt in the movies, with less emphasis on his redeeming qualities. In the book, he is the most reluctant between himself, Thorin, and Bard to start a war over Smaug's treasure, shifts his priorities from claiming the dragon's hoard towards providing relief to the survivors of Smaug's attack on Laketown, and is considerably warmer to Bilbo. He also seems to be on good terms with his son Legolas by the time of ''The Lord of the Rings'' (he's the one who sent Legolas to the Council of Elrond), while his actions ultimately estrange them in the films.
*** ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'': The Great Goblin, only in comparison of his reasons for being a villain in both versions. The sole reason is his willingness to help kill Thorin for Azog even before the dwarves are caught in Goblintown, whereas in the book, he and the goblins believe the dwarves are spies and have come to attempt to destroy them. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero It doesn't help that Gandalf kills him in attempt to save the dwarves.]] Not to mention the goblins pursued Thorin's company to avenge their ruler, [[spoiler:and even worse, later in the book after the slaying of Smaug, the goblins believed the dwarves, elves, and men to be more of a threat with Smaug's treasure, regardless of the three armies not exactly willing to share the treasure.]] In the first film, Gandalf's killing of the Great Goblin is justified as Azog and his own orcs are pursuing the dwarves since the beginning, and instead of the Goblintown goblins following Thorin's company, Azog's orcs continue to follow. Additionally the Great Goblin valued goblin lives in the book, while in the movie version kills his own men ForTheEvulz.
*** Smaug the Golden, while still a wicked and greedy dragon, is still far less vile than the other evil forces in Middle-earth like the Orcs and Sauron. In the movie, Smaug's evil traits are [[ExaggeratedTrope dialed up]] and it's clear he butchered the Dwarven race out of sadistic pleasure, not just for their treasure hoard. Additionally Smaug's attack on Lake Town in the book was because he mistakenly thought Bilbo and the Dwarves were working for them (thanks to Bilbo calling himself "Barrel Rider"), meaning it was MisplacedRetribution more than anything else. In the movie Smaug sees firsthand that it's actually Thorin and the Dwarven company trying to kill him, but ForTheEvulz Smaug goes and attacks the unaware Lake Town anyway, just to [[KickTheDog spite]] them and Bilbo in particular. The [[ReCut Extended Edition]] of ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies'' puts the cherry on top, [[spoiler:revealing Smaug was an ally of Sauron all along]].
*** In a similar case to Faramir above, Beorn, while not a villain by any means, is harsher and more menacing towards the dwarves than he was in the book, and is introduced attacking them in bear form. In the book, he's a generally more comical character and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold ultimately reasonable]] after [[ScheherezadeGambit a bit of convincing]] from Gandalf. He's still AntiHero-ish and potentially dangerous -- although mainly to goblins and Wargs.

* ''Film/{{The Parent Trap|1961}}'': In the original book, ''Literature/LottieAndLisa'', the father's fiancée is clearly an unsympathetic antagonist, but hardly a villain — she seemed to genuinely like the girls' father (even if attracted to his fame as well), wanted to have her own children with him and only planned to get rid of his daughter (by sending her to boarding school) after the latter came to her house to openly object to their marriage. The fiancée didn't actually get to do anything villainous. However, in both ''Film/TheParentTrap1961'' and ''Film/TheParentTrap1998'' she's portrayed as ChildHater and GoldDigger (in the original, she's in fact much richer than her would-be husband) who WouldHurtAChild and resents the daughter he has custody of just on principle.

* ''Film/{{The Phantom|1943}}'': Byron, Diana's love interest in the archaeological expedition, gets handed a JerkassBall near the end and becomes an antagonist for the sake of monetary gain. The Byron of the comics, even as a rival to the Phantom for Diana, was never less than honorable.

* TheStinger of ''Film/ResidentEvilWelcomeToRaccoonCity'' [[spoiler: gives this treatment to Ada Wong who in a big case of SwappedRoles is the sinister agent of Umbrella ''who [[TheManBehindTheMan hires]] Wesker'' to be TheMole and betray the good guys, unlike the games such as ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4]]'' where Wesker was the one employing Ada to do Umbrella’s dirty work before she betrayed them for a third party. Since Ada’s humanising traits, such as her [[DatingCatwoman relationship]] with Leon during the events of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2]]'' are AdaptedOut she’s a clear cut GreaterScopeVillain rather than the morally neutral FemmeFatale from the games.]]
* In ''Film/RoboCop2014'', [[spoiler:Chief Karen Dean, the {{Gender Flip}}ped version of Sgt. Reed, Murphy's supervising officer from [[Franchise/RoboCop the original trilogy]] is presented as a CorruptCop aligned with crime boss Antoine Vallon, whereas Reed was an honest cop who stood up to OCP.]]

* ''Film/ScoobyDoo'': Scrappy-Doo in the live-action movie. While previously an ally of the good guys in the [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo series]] ([[TheScrappy although disliked by a lot of fans]]), he has a FaceHeelTurn and becomes the BigBad, trying to kill Scooby and friends by sucking out their souls. His motivation in the film is anger at the Mystery, Inc. gang for [[TakeThatScrappy kicking him out of the Mystery Machine]] when he demanded that they make him leader.

* ''Literature/TheServantsOfTwilight'': In the MadeForTVMovie adaptation of Creator/DeanKoontz's book, the PrivateDetective protagonist's friend/mentor Henry is revealed to be a member of the cult [[WouldHurtAChild trying to kill his client/]]{{Love Interest|s}}[[WouldHurtAChild 's son]], whom the cultists believe to be TheAntichrist. The possibility of Henry being TheMole was discussed in the novel but was a RedHerring. Additionally, the end of the movie [[spoiler:reveals the boy ''is'' TheAntichrist, while the novel was ambiguous leaning towards "probably not, no point in worrying"; whether or not this negates the "villainy" of the first example is up to the viewer]].

* ''Film/{{She|1965}}'' (1965): Billali, a leader of the Amahaggers who in [[{{Literature/She}} the novel]] is a friend and helper to Holly and Leo, is evil in the film, kidnapping Leo on Ayesha's orders and trying to kill Leo in order to gain immortality in the fire.

** In the comics, [[spoiler:Dr. Celia Reyes is in the comics an ally to the X-Men and an ActualPacifist who rejects Xavier's offer to join the team because she wants save lives in a hospital like a real hero]]. In ''Film/TheNewMutants'', [[spoiler:she is turned into a manipulative MadScientist who's willing to kill a teenage girl. This, coupled with a RaceLift, renders her practically unrecognizable]].

* ''Film/VForVendetta'': Adam Susan in [[ComicBook/VForVendetta the comic book]] was arguably already a villain, but of the AntiVillain sort and gave the air of a rather complex psychological profile. Adam Sutler in the film is an all-out CardCarryingVillain [[KickTheDog shouting (idle) threats at his minions]] and [[KickTheSonOfABitch basically begging for the audience to root for his downfall]].

* In ''Film/TheWolfman1941'', Sir John Talbot, while he has a strained relationship with his son Lawrence, is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone genuinely horrified and upset]] when he learns that the werewolf he killed in both self-defense and to protect Gwen was his son, and in sequels it's stated that the grief killed him. In [[Film/TheWolfMan2010 the 2010 remake]], Sir John [[spoiler: is a werewolf himself, was the wolf who infected his son, and in his backstory killed his wife while transformed. He then sent young Lawrence to [[BedlamHouse an asylum]] to force the memories out of him. Over the course of the film, he kills his other son Ben, murders his manservant whose weapons he sabotaged, and outright tries to murder Lawrence more than once with no hesitation or remorse]].

* In ''[[Creator/AbbottAndCostello Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'', Jekyll has none of the good qualities he has in Stevenson's book, purposely using his murderous Mr. Hyde persona as an assassin against anyone who risks exposing his illegal experiments. Mr. Hyde himself is a near-mindless brute sought by the police as a SerialKiller.

** ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsPsylocke Psylocke]], Quill, Spike, and [[Characters/XFactor Multiple Man]] are all associated with some branch of the ''Franchise/XMen'' franchise in the comics, but here, they all appear as members of Characters/{{Ma|rvelComicsMagneto}}gneto's Brotherhood of Mutants.[[note]][[OlderThanTheyThink Although in the]] [[ComicBook/UltimateXMen Ultimate Universe]], [[OlderThanTheyThink Multiple Man was a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants]].[[/note]]

** While in the original comic book Bolivar Trask wasn't a good guy by any means, he did eventually come to realise that mutants are not a threat to humanity and [[spoiler:even performs a HeroicSacrifice to stop the Sentinels]]. Neither of those happen in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' sees [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Archangel]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsPsylocke Psylocke]] being among [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]]'s Horsemen of their own free will. And even ''before'' meeting Apocalypse, Archangel is depicted as a very vicious and cruel young man. Pyslocke is just as cruel and AxCrazy judging by the climax, showing none of the compassion or nobility of her comic counterpart. Storm still retains her better qualities, but she also stands by as Apocalypse kills thousands of innocent people in front of her, something comic Storm would never do.
** The D’bari gets in this ''Film/XMenDarkPhoenix'' in the comics they’re an innocent alien race that are decimated when [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]] destroys their solar system as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Dark Phoenix]] during the ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga''. In the film the D’bari are tyrannical [[VoluntaryShapeshifter shapeshifting]] [[AliensAreBastards alien assholes]] who try to temp Jean into destroying the Earth and serve as the antagonists in the latter half of the film. This is likely as a result of the filmmakers [[CompositeCharacter compositing]] the D’bari with the Skrulls, whom Fox didn’t have the rights to.
*** Vuk, the D'bari leader, did actually do some evil in the comics, but instead through desperation, as his debut appearance saw him turn the Avengers to stone because ComicBook/SubMariner promised to help fix his ship if he did that, undoing their [[TakenForGranite petrification]] when [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]] convinced him the Avengers could help repair his ship instead, and becoming the LastOfHisKind when Dark Phoenix decimated his species later on, giving him understandable reasons to go after her. In the film, the [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] Vuk manipulates Jean into becoming destructive, filling the role the Hellfire Club had in the original story.
** In ''Film/NewMutants'' the main antagonist [[spoiler: Dr Celia Reyes in comics was an ally to X-Men and ActualPacifist who rejects Xavier’s offer to join the team because she wants save lives in a hospital like a real hero, get turned into a manipulative MadScientist who’s willingly to kill a teenage girl. This, coupled with a RaceLift, renders her practically unrecognisable]].

* ''Film/DrJekyllAndMrHyde1920'': While Carew in [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde the book]] was described in almost angelic terms, here he's closer to Lord Henry from ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray, corrupting Jekyll into sin. (In fact, his title cards borrow some of Lord Henry's lines).

* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' would famously do this with the Borg. While highly destructive, frightening and one of the greatest threats in the Trek universe, the Borg aren’t necessarily completely evil and do have capacity for good. Episodes like “[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E23IBorg I Borg]]” from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and a lot of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' stress that the Borg are not that different from all the rest of the races in the universe and can actually reform and help other cultures in decidedly non-antagonist roles. ''First Contact'' however empathises their villainous traits portraying the Borg as little more than AlwaysChaoticEvil robo space zombies, in addition to giving them a evil HiveQueen. Sadly due to the success of ''First Contact'', this more malevolent take on the Borg would become the norm and is folded into later installments such ''Series/StarTrekPicard''.

* ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds'': The 2005 film adaptation of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' presents Harlan Ogilvy as a violent madman. In the book, Ogilvy is an astronomer who, far from being violent, was the narrator's friend who was killed by the Martians early on during an attempt at communication. The character's more antagonistic and unhinged personality comes from the deranged curate that the narrator meets in a cellar, not Ogilvy himself.

* ''Film/LastOfTheMohicans'': In the film version, Duncan Heyward, although [[spoiler: he has a HeroicSacrifice]], is significantly more of a jerk than the character in the [[Literature/TheLastOfTheMohicans book]], who [[spoiler: not only survives the book, but his descendants remain loyal to Hawkeye]].

* ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'': In the comics, Black Manta's father was a boat captain who helped his son hunt for treasure, and who was accidentally killed by an enraged Aquaman. In the movie, he's instead introduced as a ruthless pirate and killer, and his death is arguably his own fault (as he ends up pinned underneath a torpedo after fighting Aquaman during a botched submarine hijacking).

*** One of the new members of the team is T.D.K., who turns out to be [[spoiler: a loose adaptation of Arm-Fall-Off-Boy from the ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'']]. Though he appears to be AffablyEvil at worst, as, despite being a convicted criminal, he is shown to be pretty friendly and polite.
*** [[spoiler: Peacemaker is still a vigilante like his comic counterpart, but this version of the character turns out to be TheMole for [[Characters/SuicideSquadSupportStaff Amanda Waller]], and kills Rick Flag while acting on orders from Waller to destroy all evidence of America's involvement in Project Starfish.]]

** PlayedWith regarding ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' featuring [[spoiler: [=MechaGodzilla=]. The original version was built by aliens who wanted to conquer Earth, while future films [[AdaptationalHeroism reinvent]] the character as built by humans for to defeat Godzilla. This version is based more on the more recognizable take on the character, but is instead built by a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist who seeks to assert dominance over the Titans rather than any actual good. This version of Mecha G has one of the brains of deceased King Ghidorah as part of its computer, so when it awakens inside its new body, it kills off its creators and goes on a rampage. This makes this version the only one to be ''genuinely'' evil, as the original was just a war machine with no mind of its own.]]

** In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Batman outright intended to kill Superman before he could even become a threat. In one of the movie's major influences, ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman merely intends to beat Superman up and other stories have Batman come up with non-lethal countermeasures in dealing with a rogue Superman. [[spoiler: The combination of Superman mentioning the name [[NamesTheSame "Martha"]], the subsequent PTSD episode where he recalls the death of his parents, and Lois explaining who Martha Kent is and [[IHaveYourWife what's going on]] is what snapped him out of his murderous rage.]]

* ''Film/TheAddamsFamily'': In [[Series/TheAddamsFamily the original TV show]], The Addamses are a textbook example of DarkIsNotEvil, defined by their caring and generous nature, and they were repeatedly shown to be kind, welcoming, cheerful, and unfailingly polite to any strangers who happened upon their home even though most people kept their distance. In the movies they are closer to villains, being thoroughly into both causing and receiving pain, implied to be contemptuous of the few people that they realise are normies, and heavily hinted that [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they consider murder, torture, and cannibalism to be perfectly normal]].

* ''Film/TheJungleBook2016'': In the Disney animated version, King Louis is a goofy, bebopping orangutan who gets a bit cross but ultimately isn't terribly threatening when Mowgli can't give him fire. In the new movie, he's a ''Gigantopithicus'' with the mannerisms of a [[TheDon mob boss]] who tries to crush Mowgli to death when he doesn't get his way.

* In ''Film/FirstBlood'' Police Chief Wilfred Teasle, gets a great deal in comparison to the [[Literature/FirstBlood book]]. Book Teasle is a beautifully deep and wonderfully complex HeroAntagonist who while deeply flawed, still has genuine sympathy and respect for Rambo and [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar what he’s been through]] even while hunting Rambo down for the murders he’s committed. In the movie on other hand, since Rambo is a LighterAndSofter character who doesn’t deliberately kill anyone, Teasle gets the [[{{Jerkass}} hard]] [[DirtyCop opposite]] being in the words of the original author a “[[CorruptHick stereotypical redneck]]”. Movie Teasle is just an unapologetic douchebag who looks down his nose at Rambo and gets pissy at the adoration and respect other characters give him. There is some fleeting hints in the film towards Teasle’s book background as a Korean War vet to partially justify his animosity with Rambo, but the film doesn’t expound upon them.

** In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Batman outright intended to kill Superman before he could even become a threat. In one of the movie's major influences, ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman merely intends to beat Superman up in a HumiliationConga and other stories have Batman come up with non-lethal countermeasures in dealing with a rogue Superman. [[spoiler: The combination of Superman mentioning the name [[NamesTheSame "Martha"]], the subsequent PTSD episode where he recalls the death of his parents, and Lois explaining who Martha Kent is and [[IHaveYourWife what's going on]] is what snapped him out of his murderous rage.]]

** While he later returned to villainy in ''[[Videogame/MortalKombatDeception Deception]]'', Kabal was a good guy in his first appearance and fought against the forces of Outworld. In the movie, he works for Shang Tsung against the heroes of Earthrealm.
** Nitara also gets this, in the ''Videogame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'' she’s a neutral AntiHero being the last of her kind as a vampire and is actually fighting against Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn not for them. In the 2021 film however, she’s the loyal DarkMistress of Shang Tsung.

* TheStinger of ''Film/ResidentEvilWelcomeToRaccoonCity'' [[spoiler: gives this treatment to Ada Wong who in a big case of SwappedRoles is the sinister agent of Umbrella ''who [[TheManBehindTheMan hires]] Wesker'' to be TheMole and betray the good guys, unlike the games such ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4]]'' where Wesker was the one employing Ada to do Umbrella’s dirty work before she betrayed them for a third party. Since Ada’s humanising traits, such as her [[DatingCatwoman relationship]] with Leon during the events of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2]]'' are AdaptedOut she’s a clear cut GreaterScopeVillain rather than the morally neutral FemmeFatale from the games.]]

** Miraz from ''Film/PrinceCaspian'' gets a good deal of this. In [[Literature/PrinceCaspian the book]], he appears infrequently and while he has done evil things such as killing his brother to take the throne and meant to kill his nephew Caspian himself after his own son was born, aside from that he is more pathetic than sinister, being easily manipulated by his subordinates who eventually betray him and at the beginning was just a strict uncle to his nephew Caspian rather than being outright abusive. In the film (due to AdaptationExpansion) Miraz's cruelty and tyranny is [[ExaggeratedTrope dialed up]] to the extent where he's basically the Narnia equivalent to Tywin Lannister for how much of a sociopathic bastard he is. The act of killing his brother, horrifies even his wife when she learns about it and he actively [[KickTheDog derides and mocks]] Caspian for his [[VirtueIsWeakness compassion]] even while the latter has a sword up against his throat. Additionally, unlike the book where Miraz at very least engaged in a fair duel with Peter, Miraz in the film instructs TheDragon Sopespian to cheat by killing Peter with a crossbow [[DirtyCoward should the fight sway in his favor]]. All in all, Miraz provides a greater case of HumansAreTheRealMonsters in the film than the book version does.

* In most versions of ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast'' that have a rival suitor, said suitor is usually a boorish idiot. Even more sinister versions, like [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Gaston]], are more stupid than malicious. However, Sven of ''Film/BloodOfBeasts'' uses the Beast as a way to do a coup on his kingdom.

** In ''Film/JurassicWorld'' and [[Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom its sequel]], geneticist Dr. Henry Wu turns his talents to designing dinosaurs as weapons, creating powerful hybrids like the ''Indominus rex'' and ''Indoraptor'', both creatures intelligent, uncontrollable monsters even compared to the ''Velociraptors''. On top of this, he associates with unambiguously villainous characters and intentionally created the ''I. rex'' as part of a conspiracy to sabotage Jurassic World. In the original book, Wu's worst crimes were overconfidence and his [[NeverMyFault reluctance to take responsibility for the consequences of his work]], but he's not a full-on villain and uncovers Nedry's sabotage of the park. He never shows interest in using his creations for military purposes and actually wanted to modify the dinosaurs to be slower and more docile than the "real" thing. His earlier appearance in a small role in the ''Jurassic Park'' film was closer to his original book counterpart morally speaking, but when he got a bigger role in ''Jurassic World'', that's when the trope set in for him.