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The new James Bond movie, 鈥淪pectre,鈥� features the return of Daniel Craig as the British spy and has Bond going up against a villain named Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz).

(Spoilers for 鈥淪pectre鈥� follow鈥�.)聽

In the movie, which was released on Nov. 6, Bond encounters Oberhauser, whose father raised Bond following the death of Bond鈥檚 parents. Franz Oberhauser was not pleased by the affection his father showed for James. James thought Franz was dead, but it turns out he鈥檚 alive and is going by a new name: Ernst Blofeld.聽

The Bond series is certainly taking a risk in bringing back what is probably the most well-known villain from the spy series. Blofeld has previously been portrayed by actors such as Donald Pleasence. Before now, the Bond movies starring Craig have mainly centered on villains that had not previously been seen onscreen. The villain Le Chiffre, who was the antagonist in the 2006 movie 鈥淐asino Royale,鈥� had not yet been seen in the official Bond series, and Raoul Silva of 2012鈥檚 鈥淪kyfall鈥� was new to the films.聽

Has the decision to include Blofeld paid off creatively? 鈥淪pectre鈥� has gotten mixed reviews and had a less positive reception than 鈥淪kyfall鈥� or 鈥淐asino.鈥� (Craig鈥檚 other recent outing, 鈥淨uantum of Solace,鈥� was largely seen as a misfire). The verdict from critics seemed to be that it was too much of Bond business as usual.聽

As new versions of movies are adapted, it is no doubt difficult to decide whether or not to include famous antagonists. Some decisions to do so are unquestioned wins. For example, some fans expressed doubt when actor Heath Ledger took on the role of the 鈥淏atman鈥� villain the Joker for the 2008 movie 鈥淭he Dark Knight.鈥� Actor Jack Nicholson鈥檚 popular portrayal of the character was seen as a hard standard to live up to. But Ledger鈥檚 performance was universally acclaimed and the actor won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role.聽

Some can get more mixed results. One of the most famous 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� villains is Khan, who faces off with Captain James T. Kirk in the 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� film 鈥淪tar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,鈥� often cited as the best 鈥淭rek鈥� film of all time. Actor Ricardo Montalban took on the role for that movie. The current 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� series portrays younger versions of the original 鈥淭rek鈥� characters and the 2013 film 鈥淪tar Trek Into Darkness鈥� had the crew face off with Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch), originally known as John Harrison. But the film did less well with critics than its 2009 predecessor and the reaction from fans over the decision to include Khan seemed to be a collective shrug.聽

When those behind a movie decide to include an iconic villain, there鈥檚 often the pressure to put some kind of new spin on the character or story.

One of the next series to do this will be the 鈥淏atman鈥� series 鈥� again. The movie 鈥淪uicide Squad,鈥� which will be released next summer and will center on villains in the 鈥淏atman鈥� universe, will feature actor Jared Leto in the role of the Joker. Fans will no doubt be curious to see if the film can tackle a famous antagonist in a satisfying manner.