Cruella de Vil, Voldemort and the 25 greatest movie villains of all-time

20. Palpatine

When it comes to great movie villains, Palpatine is another Star Wars character that needs to make the list. Perhaps it is because of his desire to essentially conquer the universe or maybe it is his ability to live a double life, but this is a villain that deserves recognition.

One of the reasons that Palpatine is slightly higher on the list than his fellow Star Wars baddie, Kylo Ren, has to do with the fact that we know he is evil to the very core of his being. And even though some of the movies in the Star Wars franchise have not done him justice, there is never any doubt that he is in fact a villain.

Palpatine is both powerful and manipulative. He has no problem scheming in order to get what he wants. And under the moniker Darth Sidious, he even helped to restore the Sith, which is certainly a villainous act in its own right.

The fact that he is also a political type character doesn’t help make him any less of a villain and instead adds to the slick manipulator we think of him as. Palpatine is a compelling character because even in the midst of a science fiction epic, he is shockingly realistic. His actions and motivations translate into real life in a way that doesn’t always work for some villains. And that certainly helps to propel him onto our list of greatest movie villains.