History Main / VillainBasedFranchise

* The ''Film/{{Leprechaun}}'' series with the titular character, played by Creator/WarwickDavis in every film except the 2014 reboot ''Film/LeprechaunOrigins''.

This trope is very popular with the SlasherMovie genre, probably because the heroes can die off in the end without ruining the series. Often though, the villain will appear to die at the end, to allow closure to the series if another one is not made. TheEndOrIsIt ending optional. There are a few iconic horror ''heroes'', like [[Literature/{{Dracula}} Dr. Van Helsing]], but they're usually a lot less prominent and iconic than their respective villains. [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]] may be the only real exception.

* Franchise/UniversalHorror as a whole is an entire [[TheVerse universe]] composed of multiple Villain-Based Franchises, with the monsters having been marketed together by Creator/{{Universal}} ever since TheForties. They eventually tried to revive the concept as a ModularFranchise with the Film/DarkUniverse, though the BoxOfficeBomb of ''Film/TheMummy2017'', intended to lead off the franchise, has [[StillbornFranchise strangled it in its crib]].

* Franchise/UniversalHorror as a whole is an entire [[TheVerse universe]] composed of multiple Villain-Based Franchises, with the monsters having been marketed together by Creator/{{Universal}} ever since TheForties. They eventually tried to revive the concept as a ModularFranchise with the Dark Universe, though the BoxOfficeBomb of ''Film/TheMummy2017'', intended to lead off the franchise, has [[StillbornFranchise put its fate up in the air]].

* Following the ComicBook/BrightestDay event, Franchise/{{Superman}} based title ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' was retooled to star Superman's ArchEnemy ComicBook/LexLuthor, even being billed as ''Lex Luthor's'' Action Comics. This lasted about a year and followed Luthor's quest at godhood, which culminated in him [[spoiler:actually getting it only to lose it when a condition of the godhood was that he couldn't use his new power to harm Superman]].

** Although ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' did fine at the box office, this has definitely happened with Cruella de Vil. Since the original release of the animated film, she's become a BreakoutCharacter. When the live-action films came along, Cruella de Vil was treated as the starring role, with Glenn Close's name written in big letters on all the posters, and she basically became the central character. There's also a Broadway musical, and again Cruella (played by Rachel York) was treated as the starring role.

* The ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' films all feature at least one member of an alien species that serves as the villain. The ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' movies also feature them.

* The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series featuring Jason Voorhees. [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 The first movie]] did not have Jason as the killer, but [[AxCrazy crazy]] [[MamaBear mom]] instead, while [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning the fifth movie]] features a JackTheRipoff killer imitating the dead Jason. Even so, however, Jason is so deeply associated with the series that the titles of the last ''three'' films before it was [[Film/FridayThe13th2009 remade]] (''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'', ''Film/JasonX'', and ''Film/FreddyVsJason'') don't even have the full title of the series in them -- but ''do'' prominently feature Jason's name, such that the series as a whole is often called simply "the Jason movies" without any confusion as to what the person using the term is talking about. Otherwise, the closest thing the series had to a recurring protagonist was Tommy Jarvis from the [[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter fourth]], [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning fifth]], and [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives sixth]] films.
* The ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' series featuring Freddy Krueger. While the series did have recurring heroes in Nancy Thompson in the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 first]] and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors third films]] and Alice Johnson in the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster fourth]] and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet5TheDreamChild fifth]], Freddy is the common denominator throughout the series; like with ''Friday the 13th'' above, they are often called "Freddy movies". Furthermore, unlike some horror franchises, it features the same actor recurring as the villain throughout. Excluding the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 2010 remake]] (which cast Creator/JackieEarleHaley), Creator/RobertEnglund has reprised his killer role as Freddy Krueger in all eight original-series films.
* The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' series featuring Michael Myers. Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis did serve as heroes for most of the series, but Laurie was absent from the [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers fourth]], [[Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers fifth]], and [[Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers sixth]] films (the "Curse of Thorn" [[AlternateContinuity timeline]]; all of these, incidentally, had Michael Myers' full name in the title), while Loomis was absent from the ''[[Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater H20]]'' timeline (which also includes ''Film/HalloweenResurrection''). Notably, Creator/JohnCarpenter originally wanted to avert this and turn ''Halloween'' into an anthology series, making the third movie, ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'', about a wholly separate story from the first two. Fan and critical backlash to that film caused him to sell the rights to Moustapha Akkad, who brought Michael back with the fourth film, titled ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' to signify that The Shape was returning. After that, there was no looking back.
* The ''Film/ChildsPlay'' series featuring Chucky, a KillerDoll possessed by the spirit of the SerialKiller Charles Lee Ray. Like with Freddy Krueger in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', Chucky has been voiced by Creator/BradDourif in every film. Notably, even the series itself calls them "Chucky movies"; every film after ''Film/ChildsPlay3'' has been titled some variation of "''[blank] of Chucky''", largely due to a [[https://screenrant.com/chucky-childs-play-movie-rights-mgm-universal-mancini/ complicated legal tangle.]][[note]]Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer owns the rights to [[Film/ChildsPlay1988 the first movie]] and the ''Child's Play'' title, but Don Mancini owns the rights to the sequels and the franchise. This is why the [[Film/ChildsPlay2019 2019 remake]] had to heavily alter Chucky's backstory, as using the one from the films would have run up against Mancini's property.[[/note]] The later films ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' and ''Film/SeedOfChucky'' added a secondary villain in Chucky's lover Tiffany, voiced by Creator/JenniferTilly. The first three movies featured a central hero, Andy Barclay, but after the commercial failure of the third movie it was decided to retool the franchise into this (though Andy has returned in the more recent films as an adult after being PutOnABus through the 2000s).
* The titular [[ZombieApocalypse Living Dead]] are the only common link in the Film/LivingDeadSeries by Creator/GeorgeARomero and John Russo, as well as ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'' by Russo (a spinoff that takes the original ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' as a form of FictionAsCoverUp) and ''Film/{{Zombi 2}}'' by Creator/LucioFulci (an independent film that was marketed as an unofficial sequel to ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978'', which was [[MarketBasedTitle titled]] ''Zombi'' in Italy).

* Franchise/UniversalHorror as a whole is an entire [[TheVerse universe]] composed of multiple Villain-Based Franchises, with the monsters having been marketed together by Creator/{{Universal}} ever since TheForties. They eventually tried to revive the concept as a ModularFranchise with the Dark Universe, though the BoxOfficeBomb of ''Film/TheMummy2017'', intended to lead off the franchise, has [[StillbornFranchise put its fate up in the air]].
** ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', with a host of books and movies based off the bloodsucking fiend. The most famous examples include the Universal films starting with ''Film/Dracula1931'', and the Film/HammerHorror films starting with ''Film/HorrorOfDracula''. This gets turned UpToEleven in ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', where the Count is the titled SociopathicHero protagonist [[spoiler: who ends up victorious, lampshading the whole 'Dracula returns' at the end.]]
** ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' is a similar case, with Universal's [[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} 1931 adaptation]] spinning off a series of horror films that may or may not have featured [[MadScientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein]] or his descendants, but ''always'' featured [[FrankensteinsMonster the Monster]] front and center. This trope is best evidenced by the fact that people frequently refer to the monster himself as "Frankenstein", even though [[IAmNotShazam that was the name of his creator]]. (The movie ''Film/IFrankenstein'' had it both ways and had the monster take on Frankenstein as his last name, seeing the man who created him as his 'father'.)
** ''Film/TheMummy1932'' and its quasi-remake in 1940, ''Film/TheMummysHand'', the latter of which spawned multiple sequels. The titular {{mummy}} was named Imhotep in the original (which the [[Film/TheMummy1999 1999 remake]] also used) and played by Creator/BorisKarloff, and named Kharis in ''Hand'' and its sequels and played by Creator/LonChaneyJr, but the BroadStrokes are similar enough that ''Hand'' is often mistaken for a sequel.
*** The Kharis series ''did'' have a few recurring characters other than Kharis himself, with the human heroes of ''The Mummy's Hand'' returning in ''The Mummy's Tomb''... only to [[BackForTheDead get killed off]] to make way for a new generation of heroes. There was also Andoheb, TheManBehindTheMan to Kharis, who appears throughout the series, but is much less recognizable, and, well, the movies aren't named after him.
** ''[[Film/TheInvisibleMan1933 The Invisible Man]]''. Technically a LegacyCharacter, as the title character in ''Film/TheInvisibleManReturns'' was a different person, but the common denominator in both films is a man who turns invisible and uses the freedom offered by his new power to go on a rampage.
** There were three ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' films, all of which had the Gill-man (played by Ricou Browning in the underwater scenes) and no other returning characters.
* The ''Film/{{Phantasm}}'' series featuring the Tall Man. Though the heroes return as well... sort of.

* The ''Film/{{Leprechaun}}'' series with the titular character, played by Creator/WarwickDavis in every film except the 2014 reboot ''Film/LeprechaunOrigins''.
* The ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' films eventually became one of these, focusing more on [[EnsembleDarkhorse Pinhead]], played by Creator/DougBradley for eight films, from [[Film/{{Hellraiser}} the original]] up until ''[[Film/HellraiserHellworld Hellworld]]''. Bradley eventually left the series when the poor quality and AshcanCopy nature of ''[[Film/HellraiserRevelations Revelations]]'' proved to be too much even for him to take, though the part was simply [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] from there and the series kept going.
* The sequels to the original ''Film/PromNight1980'' tried to become one with [[Film/HelloMaryLouPromNightII Mary-Lou Maloney]]. She was dropped from [[Film/PromNightIVDeliverUsFromEvil the fourth movie]].

* ''Film/{{Shocker}}'' featuring Horace Pinker was an attempt to create one, but low sales ended these plans.

* The ''Film/{{Final Destination}}'' series, where the recurring villain is Fate or Death itself.
* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise is centered around the PoeticSerialKiller Jigsaw, who puts people in {{Death Trap}}s. He serves as the main plot driver for the first three movies, then [[LegacyCharacter his apprentices and a copycat take his place]].
* The lesser-known ''Film/SleepawayCamp'' series. Notably, the killer's identity is the subject of [[TheReveal the big twist]] in the first film (and a famously shocking one at that), but in the [[Film/SleepawayCampIIUnhappyCampers second]] and [[Film/SleepawayCampIIITeenageWasteland third]] films, [[spoiler:Angela's face]] is [[LateArrivalSpoiler put right up on the posters]].
* Angela in the original ''Film/NightOfTheDemons1988'' was just another demon-possessed person. In ''Film/NightOfTheDemons2'' and ''Film/NightOfTheDemons3'', she is the leader of the demonic debauchery.
* The ''Film/DoctorMabuse'' series is one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook, starting before talkies.
* ''Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes'' and its sequel, ''Film/DrPhibesRisesAgain''. Each gives the eponymous abominable doctor a new nemesis, with the only other recurring characters being [[ThoseTwoGuys a pair of ineffectual detectives.]]

* In a way, the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' series, with [[AIIsACrapshoot SkyNet]]. The movies do have central protagonists in John Connor and his mother Sarah, but not only is the villain always a Terminator KillerRobot -- even if it's not one that looks like Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger -- but some media only feature said machines.
* ''Film/{{Tremors}}'': While Burt Gummer is a recurring character in ''most'' of the franchise, he cannot really be said to be the primary one. The Graboids and their different life cycles are the center of attention.
* The ''Film/{{Hatchet}}'' films have Victor Crowley, who is notably played by Creator/KaneHodder, the most famous of the various actors/stuntmen to play the aforementioned Jason Voorhees. While the first three films do have a recurring [[FinalGirl heroine]] in Marybeth Dunston, she was [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] in the second film (with Creator/DanielleHarris replacing Creator/TamaraFeldman) and is outright gone from the fourth film [[spoiler:outside TheStinger]], while Hodder played Crowley through all four films. The fourth film, in fact, is simply titled ''[[AntagonistTitle Victor Crowley]]''.
* ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre'' has Leatherface and, more broadly, the entire Sawyer family, the CannibalClan he serves as TheHeavy for, hunting down and butchering their victims. The series as a whole is known for not really caring about continuity beyond treating [[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 the first film]] as canon, but the lone constants throughout the series are Leatherface and the Sawyers.
* Music/RobZombie's "Firefly Trilogy" of ''Film/HouseOf1000Corpses'', ''Film/TheDevilsRejects'', and ''Film/ThreeFromHell'' has the Firefly family, a family of backwoods {{serial killer}}s based on the aforementioned Sawyers. Notably, it's a franchise in which they were elevated to outright {{Villain Protagonist}}s by the second movie.

* The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series featuring Jason Voorhees. [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 The first movie]] did not have Jason as the killer, but [[spoiler:his [[AxCrazy crazy]] [[MamaBear mom]]]] instead, while [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning the fifth movie]] features [[spoiler:a JackTheRipoff killer imitating the dead Jason]]. Even so, however, Jason is so deeply associated with the series that the titles of the last ''three'' films before it was [[Film/FridayThe13th2009 remade]] (''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'', ''Film/JasonX'', and ''Film/FreddyVsJason'') don't even have the full title of the series in them -- but ''do'' prominently feature Jason's name, such that the series as a whole is often called simply "the Jason movies" without any confusion as to what the person using the term is talking about. Otherwise, the closest thing the series had to a recurring protagonist was Tommy Jarvis from the [[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter fourth]], [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning fifth]], and [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives sixth]] films.

[[caption-width-right:275:"One, two, Freddy's coming for you"...again and again and again...]]

The idea started with Pulp novels and villains like Literature/FuManchu or Literature/{{Fantomas}}.

Very popular with the SlasherMovie genre, probably because the heroes can die off in the end without ruining the series. Often though, the villain will appear to die at the end, to allow closure to the series if another one is not made. TheEndOrIsIt ending optional. There are a few iconic horror ''heroes'', like [[Literature/{{Dracula}} Dr. Van Helsing]], but they're usually a lot less prominent and iconic than their respective villains. [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]] may be the only real exception.

If the franchise is named after the villain, do not confuse this with AntagonistTitle. If the villain themselves appears as the mascot, they are a MascotVillain. While the recurring villain in a Villain-Based Franchise usually features as the VillainAntagonist in the individual installments rather than as an outright VillainProtagonist, they are still the overarching main character in the series ''as a whole'', disqualifing them from this trope.

A series linked by a recurring villain. The heroes and the locations may change or be dropped, but the central link remains the villain. The villain is frequently the BigBad of the franchise and most or all of its installments, though this doesn't have to be the case to qualify for the trope.

This is not the same as a series with a VillainProtagonist, which may introduce a whole new set of heroes with each installment, but the villain usually remains as the protagonist.

Not the same as a series with a VillainProtagonist. Each installment may introduce a whole new set of heroes, but they may still be the protagonists.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Each season of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has a plot that focuses almost entirely on [[AIIsACrapshoot XANA's]] schemes, attacks and evolution. Which is kinda ironic considering he is [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen never actually seen]] [[UltimateEvil or heard in person]].

%%* The ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' series (a CutShort two-season cartoon, a continuation comic series, and an upcoming TV movie) is all about a megalomaniacal alien whose goal is to TakeOverTheWorld ForTheEvulz. While his [[HeroAntagonist human enemy Dib]] is the {{Deuteragonist}} who in some episodes/issues is the main focus, Zim is the primary main character.

* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise is driven by the PoeticSerialKiller Jigsaw, who puts people in {{Death Trap}}s. It's the same villain for the first few, then [[LegacyCharacter his apprentices take his place]].

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' is linked by its main villain Dracula. This even extends to the ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Sorrow]]'' games, which are set in the future after Drac's FinalDeath. Who is the player character? [[spoiler:His reincarnation!]]

Very popular with the SlasherMovie genre, probably because the heroes can die off in the end without ruining the series. Often though, the villain will appear to die at the end, to allow closure to the series if another one is not made. TheEndOrIsIt ending optional.

** ''Film/TheMummy1932'' and its quasi-remake in 1940, ''Film/TheMummysHand'', the latter of which spawned multiple sequels. The titular {{mummy}} was named Imhotep in the original (which the [[Film/TheMummy1999 1999 remake]] also used) and played by Creator/BorisKarloff, and named Kharis in ''Hand'' and its sequels and played by Creator/LonChaneyJr, but the BroadStrokes are similar enough that ''Hand'' is often mistaken for a sequel. Save for the mummy, there are very few returning characters between films.

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' is linked by its main villain Dracula. This even extends to the ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Sorrow]]'' games, which are set in the future after Drac's FinalDeath. Who is the player character? [[spoiler:His reincarnation!]]
** Really, {{Dracula}} in [[PublicDomainCharacter all of his incarnations.]]

* The ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' series has a different protagonist for (almost) every game, but the villains are always animatronics and ocasionally humans, but the award has to be given to [[AntagonistTitle Freddy Fazbear]] or [[BigBad William Afton]].
** Freddy Fazbear is of course the titular character, who has the biggest amount of counterparts and appears in every game, no matter if he's [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 withered]], a [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 hallucination]], or a [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4 dream]].
** William Afton, on the other hand, kickstarted the entire franchise and has been linked to every single entry in the franchise (with one, non-canon exception). While he took the role of the BigBad in only three games (and he's part of the BigBadDuumvirate in one of them), he's without a doubt one for the entire series, with every single event being linked to him. Not to mention his JokerImmunity, a contrast to Freddy, who's been KilledOffForReal as early as the third game and had different counterparts replace his role.

* The ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' series has a different KidHero each game, but [[UptliftedAnimal evil genius monkey]] Specter is always the villain.

* The ''Film/{{Hatchet}}'' films have Victor Crowley, who is notably played by Creator/KaneHodder, the most famous of the various actors/stuntmen to play the aforementioned Jason Voorhees. While the first three films do have a recurring [[FinalGirl heroine]] in Marybeth Dunston, she was [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] in the second film (with Creator/DanielleHarris replacing Tamara Feldman) and is outright gone from the fourth film [[spoiler:outside TheStinger]], while Hodder played Crowley through all four films. The fourth film, in fact, is simply titled ''[[AntagonistTitle Victor Crowley]]''.

* Possibly ''Franchise/SilentHill'', [[EldritchLocation if a place can be a villain]].

* ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries Command & Conquer: Tiberium]]'' revolves around Kane.

** William Afton, on the other hand, is the man linked to every death in the franchise, directly or indirectly. He killed the child that posseses Freddy Fazbear, manipulates his son, [[TheHero Michael Afton]], into [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation going on a suicide mission]], and while Freddy is dead since [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 the third game]] (unless there's a prequel), William is ''still'' alive. However, compared to Freddy, he doesn't appear in every game, not being mentioned in the charity game. Understandable, as it's a non-canon spin-off.

%%* Doctor Wily of ''Franchise/MegaMan'' is one of these. His declaring world domination pushes Rock to undergo the change to Mega Man. Wily is also influencing events long after [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic his life]] thanks to his hand in the creation of [[VideoGame/MegaManX the Maverick Virus]].

* The ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'' series featuring Chucky, a KillerDoll possessed by the spirit of the SerialKiller Charles Lee Ray. Like with Freddy Krueger in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', Chucky has been voiced by Creator/BradDourif in every film. Notably, even the series itself calls them "Chucky movies"; every film after ''Film/ChildsPlay3'' has been titled some variation of "''[blank] of Chucky''", largely due to a [[https://screenrant.com/chucky-childs-play-movie-rights-mgm-universal-mancini/ complicated legal tangle.]][[note]]Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer owns the rights to [[Film/ChildsPlay the first movie]] and the ''Child's Play'' title, but Don Mancini owns the rights to the sequels and the franchise. This is why the [[Film/ChildsPlay2019 2019 remake]] had to heavily alter Chucky's backstory, as using the one from the films would have run up against Mancini's property.[[/note]] The later films ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' and ''Film/SeedOfChucky'' added a secondary villain in Chucky's lover Tiffany, voiced by Creator/JenniferTilly. The first three movies featured a central hero, Andy Barclay, but after the commercial failure of the third movie it was decided to retool the franchise into this (though Andy has returned in the more recent films as an adult after being PutOnABus through the 2000s).

* Every ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' game in the Xehanort Saga (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI-[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]]'' and every spin-off or side game released in-between) is linked by the same mysterious evil figure who just won't stay dead. Whether a new villain will antagonize the next several games or if the series will move on to one-off villains is yet to be seen.

* [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney Villains]]. Most animated Disney films that failed at the box office will inevitably become this.

* ''Franchise/{{Tremors}}'': While Burt Gummer is a recurring character in ''most'' of the franchise, he cannot really be said to be the primary one. The Graboids and their different life cycles are the center of attention.

* The ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise are all linked by the titular alien species that serves as the villains. While the original series all featured Ellen Ripley as the protagonist, the introduction of the prequels, without Ripley, turned it into a villain-based franchise. The aliens also provide the villains in the ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' series.