If a horror film franchise wants to succeed, it needs a central villain. Though they don't need to appear in every film or even be seen, these characters are synonymous with their respective franchise. Characters like Freddy Krueger were introduced as villains, but in his case, his charisma and creativity propelled the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise into legendary status. Despite the existence of characters like Krueger, horror icons are incredibly difficult to build on screen. As new films debut each year, it's hard to pinpoint who the next great horror villain will be. However, many films have looked to literature to find the next one.
Film adaptations of horror novels are a great way to explore future villains, as they have established characters and fanbases to build on. Most notably, the film IT was able to build on the book's success to create two iconic portrayals of Pennywise. Following numerous horror remakes and adaptations, H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos is an underutilized horror universe that has incredible potential. The mythos has a plethora of stories and beings to display on screen as well as dark themes to carry a story, but with the otherworldly ideologies at play, the films can be difficult to make or find a central villain. Though the task is cumbersome, there is a being in the Cthulhu Mythos more than capable of carrying a franchise: Nyarlathotep.
First appearing in the prose poem "Nyarlathotep," he is an Outer God and among the most powerful beings in all of the Cthulhu Mythos. Portrayed as nearly omnipotent, manipulative, and with a physical form that will drive witnesses to madness, Nyarlathotep is a force to be reckoned with in the universe. Among his most important abilities, it is stated in the stories that he is the messenger of the Outer Gods and actually has the power to bring these deities into our realm. Many who come in contact with the Outer God are often tricked into causing their own demise or madness by him, who delights in the suffering of others. It is this particular trait that makes Nyarlathotep compelling enough to drive a franchise.
Though much of the Cthulhu Mythos is dedicated to alien concepts and anti-anthropocentrism, Nyarlathotep subverts this by being a God-like being who takes an interest in humans. Most of the Lovecraftian entities either come across humans inadvertently or are summoned by humans who they view as insignificant, which is where most of Lovecraftian horror comes from. Nyarlathotep, who delights in the suffering, completely reshapes the mythos because of his sadistic tendencies. In a universe where cosmic horrors run rampant and have powers that can render people insane, Nyarlathotep is horrifying because he has these capabilities and enjoys inflicting them on humans. His godly power and human-like deceptions make him an unimaginable threat.
When adapting Nyarlathotep to a Cthulhu Mythos series, what makes him intriguing is his similarities to popular horror icons. Freddy Krueger is a monster with unlimited power within dreams, but his charisma and delight in suffering make him comparable to Nyarlathotep's more human traits. Many of Stephen King's adaptations feature Lovecraftian beings in the form of Pennywise and Randall Flagg, the latter of whom has been compared to Nyarlathotep, and both of which would be great individual molds for a cinematic universe. What makes Nyarlathotep intriguing is that he's all of these characters combined.
Nyarlathotep is the evil and power of something like Satan mixed with the unpredictability of A Clockwork Orange's Alex DeLarge. Rarely is a character with as many abilities and details as Nyarlathotep and a reputation to boot introduced to film. With the love of torture and evil like Freddy Krueger, the abilities of Flagg, and the monstrous visage of Pennywise, there's nothing quite like him in the mythos. Though his powers and manipulation should isolate him, he navigates this by having a thousand forms and speaking a thousand languages. No matter what he does, he will get what he wants regardless of his perceptions, which makes him an ultimate villain. Introducing him into a cinematic universe would work quite easily as well.
Though his titular prose would be fine to start, the easiest introduction to the screen would be through the short story "The Dreams in the Witch House." The tale revolves around a university student who gets visions of a Witch and her half-human half-rat familiar as they navigate through odd dimensions and commit horrific acts. During their travels, the student signs the Book of Azathoth as he is introduced to Nyarlathotep. Though the story isn't based around him as a central character, it would establish his presence in the universe.
After introducing Nyarlathotep through the shadows, his presence can loom over the universe in a similar way to Death from the Final Destination franchise. Whether present in the story or not, his ability to take on many forms and the abilities he possesses could force an audience to think he's watching at all times, and likely is. One of the fundamentals of horror is isolation, and if anyone around the main character could be Nyarlathotep, the existential dread increases. The tensions he provides to film aren't just limited to characters.
Nyarlathotep is described as one of the few beings who could bring the Outer Gods into the mortal realm, and this fact makes him potentially the most powerful being in the universe, outside of Azathoth and Yog Sothoth. He could easily destroy the world but chooses not to because he likes to toy with humans. The idea that he could be deranged enough to pull the trigger but doesn't comes with a greater cosmic horror. He could end all suffering by killing everyone and bringing them in, but he won't because he wants them to suffer.
The lore and powers surrounding a being who can be anyone and end the universe make Nyarlathotep perfect because he's the perfect mix of human horror and cosmic horror. Cosmic threats like Azathoth are only vaguely aware of humans, which makes them hard to adapt to film. But a cosmic being who can interact with these entities and humans and could wipe out reality if he felt like it would be a threat never seen in cinema.