Create Great Antagonists

We all know who the opponent. He is a bad guy, the one with the black hat or super weapon designed to destroy the planet. Or, the opponent could be an office worker competes with our hero for the same promotion. Either way is a sign of an antagonist or protagonist must defeat the forces.

There are two basic types of antagonists. The first is a super villain with a plan. The second is someone who simply wants to thwart the protagonist, perhaps because they both want the same. Either way, your story must have a good antagonist to be interesting. And a better antagonist of the story better.

So how to create big antagonists? Make him or her as big and bad, and as powerful as possible. The more powerful your opponent is going to be difficult for the protagonists to succeed in beating or destroying them.

Who are some of the great antagonist of film? Darth Vader in "Star Wars", the shark in "Jaws" Goldfinger, the film of the same name, the wicked witch in "The Wizard of Oz" Lord Sauron, the Creator of the ring in Lord of the Rings, and meat eating dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, to name only few.

How to create a worthy antagonist:

Introduce him / her early in the story. If you want your villain to remain a mystery for some time, show us the consequences of his actions early in the cowardly instead.

Give us a reason to hate the antagonist. We show how their actions affect the protagonist, innocent passers-by and the world at large. Show us the fear and suffering they create.

Show us what is at stake if the opponent fails. Will the hero die? Will the love interest die? Will capital be destroyed?

Create a antagonist compound. Put humanity in its antagonist. Unless, of course, it was a giant shark or dinosaur. In monster movies, this is a creature of complete lack of humanity that makes them so deadly and frightening.

Make sure yours is the antagonistic forces and capabilities are compelling in the context of the story. Do not give the great white shark a couple of wings.

If the opponent is a group, do one of their leaders. Did the protagonist and antagonist leaders face off in the climax of the film.

Also, if the opponent is a group to make sure that the audience does not know who the most powerful people in the descending order.

If the opponent's force, such as time, make sure the time line of the story.

Danek S. Kaus is a produced screenwriter of the award-winning feature film. He has two films in development and three of his scripts have been optioned.