The Long Walk has a very unique kind of villain for the typical Stephen King adaptation, and that’s exactly what makes the film so exciting. After spending years in development limbo, Lionsgate Films moved forward with the film, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s first novels. Focusing on an endless walk where the contestants struggle to stay awake and alive for the promise of a mᴀssive prize, the film’s trailer suggests the movie will be a faithful adaptation of the original story.
This includes the inclusion of the Major, the closest thing the movie has to a villain. While the character is a detestable figure in the story, he’s less of a direct antagonist and more an arbiter of the world around the contestants. The Major is a cog in a system, one that has turned him into “the rarest and most dangerous monster.” Mark Hamill’s the Major is a big reason why audiences should be excited about The Long Walk, especially because he exemplifies one of the best elements of any good Stephen King villain.
How The Long Walk’s Villain Is A Different Kind Of Monster
The World Of The Long Walk Doesn’t See The Major As The Problem
The Long Walk‘s Major is a very different kind of horror story threat than the immortal clowns or vicious vampires of other Stephen King adaptations, giving the film a disarmingly human villain. The Major is the leader of the platoon of soldiers moving alongside the contestants of the Long Walk, introducing and enforcing the lethal rules of the compeтιтion.
The Major is played by Mark Hamill in the cinematic adaptation of The Long Walk, bringing a curt delivery to his introduction of the rules. The Major mentions the first one of these marathons with a certain reverence for the event that reinforces the clear respect the rest of the apparently crumbling world holds for the race.
The Major isn’t a supernatural clown with the ability to turn nightmares into weapons or a vampire that can rip apart a town. The Major is a monster that was created by the society around him, seen as a leader of men and an arbiter of the authority in place in this world. The Major isn’t magic or alien, he’s just a terrible man given a position of power.
Stephen King’s original novel describes the Major as “The rarest and most dangerous monster any nation can produce, a society-supported sociopath.” The Major is someone who can watch people die for the sake of their traditions and laws, and not only accept it but embrace it.
The Major’s calls for greatness at the beginning of the compeтιтion underscore exactly what makes the villain so frightening. He sees the deaths of the contestants as something honorable, telling them all that they are brave for taking part in a storied tradition.
The Major feels like a believable human, enforcing inhumane laws. He’s the kind of person who has existed for as long as humans have had society. He can’t be explained away by mysterious origins. The Major represents a very real type of evil, which reinforces the grounded terror of The Long Walk‘s premise.
The Long Walk’s “Monster” Is A Good Sign For The Movie
The Long Walk Needs To Be Scary In A Very Realistic Way
The Major, being such a grounded character, speaks to what makes The Long Walk such a compelling story. Whereas other Stephen King adaptations can thread the needle between paranormal threats and the dangers of the real world, The Long Walk makes society at large and the Major specifically a very realistic monster.
The best Stephen King villains, especially the ones in adaptations, are the ones that feel disturbingly real. The monsters of The Mist are frightening, but it’s the extremism and fear-mongering of Mrs. Carmody that lingers with audiences. Pennywise may be an immortal monster, but many of his scare tactics rely on human cruelty.
He’s a state-sponsored monster, framing the deaths of young men as a worthy challenge…
The Major is what happens when that kind of monstrous personality doesn’t just find a place to survive in society, but to thrive. The Long Walk seems to be expanding on the themes of society’s cold acceptance of this horrifying situation. The officers saluting the Walkers and the curious onlookers all add to the unsettling suggestion that this is a world that respects the Major’s authority.
If the film fully adapts the story from the book, it only gets scarier. The Major, being such a human villain, reflects the best Stephen King adaptations that retain the worst of humanity in even the most absurd situations. The fact that the Major has no special powers or demonic origin makes him even scarier.
The Major is a cruel man who enjoys what he’s doing. He’s a state-sponsored monster, framing the deaths of young men as a worthy challenge. In an age of fears of increased militarization of extreme ideologies, the Major feels like a worst-case scenario.
The Major’s Actor Will Turn A Classic Hero Into A Villain
Mark Hamill’s Villainous Turns Are Among His Best Performances
One of the most exciting elements of the Major is the fact that the film has cast Mark Hamill in the role. Best known for his performance as Luke Skywalker, Hamill has been the standard bearer of movie protagonists ever since. The Major is a very different kind of character.
Hamill seems to be putting all that natural charisma into a more villainous variant, effectively showcasing how he would bring the energy to a villainous society’s law to the world instead of fighting against it. Hamill has played live-action villains before (such as in The Fall of the House of Usher), but The Long Walk seems to flip his talents in a very clever way.
Through his voice acting, Hamill has long proven that he can deliver a truly fantastic villain performance. Roles like the Joker and Ozai have solidified Hamill as a great villain, so it’s exciting to see him bring that energy to one of Stephen King’s most underrated monsters.
The Major is the culmination of everything that makes The Long Walk‘s world so unsettling. As opposed to the more bombastic “last man standing” narrative of The Running Man, The Long Walk‘s staying power can be found in the realistic edge that it gives a fatalist society.
Mark Hamill’s Major seems to be a true believer, turning loyalty and duty into monstrous qualities. The Major is a fascinatingly human villain, and one of the biggest reasons why The Long Walk has quietly become one of the most exciting movies of 2025’s second half.
