Photo Courtesy of Ron Lach- Pexels
Calling All Villains (2026- ) is a show that has something for everyone, with a wonderful story and wonderful characters. Make sure to grab some friends, and watch it at your next free moment.
On Oct. 31, the 30-minute pilot of a brand-new animated show, Calling All Villains (2026- ) appeared on YouTube. It was created by ZAMination, a channel many may recognize from their popular crossover-filled web series, Fazbear & Friends (2021-2025).
Calling All Villains (2026- ) is an original 3D animated series centering around a set of wannabe supervillains who are summoned to the lair of the all-time greatest supervillain, the Big Bad. The Big Bad is a wonder of a character. This skeleton-like conqueror of the universe is cartoonishly evil in a way that is very self-aware; he is over the top but still manages to come off as a genuine threat, which makes him a delight to watch. He will break into a classic song befitting of a Disney villain just as soon as he will puppet around the corpse of another villain he killed for daring to question him.
This skeleton-like conqueror of the universe is beginning to grow old and suspects he will not be around for much longer, and as such, wishes to handpick his successor. He summons each supervillain interested and divides them up into teams of six, sending them on tasks to prove how evil they are.
This is how we meet our main cast of five—formerly six, but one is now the aforementioned corpse—wannabe villains. Lady Killer wears a mask that covers her face and does not speak, communicating only through charades and inspirational stickers. In spite of this, she seems to be among the most efficient of the group, the only one to not get carried away by her own hubris and reminding everyone to stay on task. Lord General, played by Zachary Preciado according to IMDb, is apparently a recovering “good guy addict” and, despite his terrifying appearance, seems to have to constantly remind himself not to be nice. The Pink Thing, played by Sabrina Twyla, is sure to end up as a fan-favorite, with a cute, furry appearance, gremlin-like tendencies, and a desire to do villainy by the book. Mr. WPNZ, played by Gianni Matragrano, seems to be among the most experienced of the villains, with a focus on projectiles and heavy weaponry, but still struggles to perform well with the other characters getting in the way. Finally, the star of the show is Mr. Puzzles, played by Brendan Blaber!
As the main character, Mr. Puzzles is the one the audience follows and the one we know the most about, which is how we quickly find out that he does not really even want to be the villain. In a task for the Big Bad, Mr. Puzzles tries to distract a leader of the planet and quickly ends up having a heart-to-heart with this good guy; he seems to regret eventually winning the day in what stuck out as a very emotional moment. Mr. Puzzles is not someone who inherently enjoys being evil or hurting others. Rather, it seems that he is someone who wants to leave some mark on the world and believes that he has failed everywhere else.
While initially not getting along, each of the cast do seem to grow fond of each other throughout the course of the episode. They seem unhappy in the knowledge that they will eventually have to betray each other in order to win the Big Bad’s competition. This combined with Mr. Puzzle’s regret may lead to an eventual storyline where it is revealed that all these villains are just looking to make a mark. Maybe they will discover it is adequate to impact each other’s lives in a meaningful way, and that they do not need to conquer the world to be heard.
With only one episode out, Calling All Villains (2026- ) has managed to capture the attention of the internet, and for good reason. The pilot is beautifully animated and manages to make audiences let out more than a few genuine laughs while also making their hearts sink with a few shocking and emotional scenes. It even manages to set up a few mysteries to get excited for, such as Lady Killer seemingly having secret intentions in the competition, or the Big Bad eavesdropping on the main cast. Give Calling All Villains (2026- ) a try! If the fun plot or promises of a greater mystery do not draw you in, then the cast of lovable characters will!
Speaking of lovable characters, you may just recognize the names Mr. Puzzles and Mr. WPNZ if you were ever a fan of the web series SMG4 (2011-2025), where the two were villains. IMDb confirms that Calling All Villains (2026-) is a spinoff of SMG4 (2011-2025), though, speaking from experience, you need no knowledge of the show to enjoy this spinoff. You might still catch some fun easter eggs, though!