The super-powered family's brand new nemesis has a pretty self-explanatory name, that being: The Screenslaver. As the end of the second and most recent trailer for
The Incredibles 2 briefly showed us, The Screenslaver will be utilising TV and computer screens to hypnotize people - Their mesmerising goggles, no doubt, playing a major part in their hypnotic abilities.
Though while The Screenslaver may make use of fancy, high-tech gadgets, their evil lair is quite the opposite. The new villain lives in a forgotten space beneath the overpass, in a hangout which literally consists of junk and trash. This is certainly a departure from Syndrome, the first movie's antagonist, who thrived on an obsessive nature and lavish lifestyle.
According to Brad Bird, writer and director of both films, The Screenslaver was designed as the main villain of
The Incredibles 2 specifically to convey the poignant idea that attachment to screens can be a major problem in our world.
Here's what Bird had to say at a Q&A panel about the themes of the film:
We have things about, again exploring the roles of men and women, the importance of fathers participating, the importance of allowing women to also express themselves through work and they are just as viable as men are and there's aspects of being controlled by screens, there's feelings about the difficulties of parenthood, that parenting is a heroic act.
The roles of each gender is obviously being tackled by the film - As demonstrated by having Elastigirl go out on her own as a superhero while Mr. Incredible stays home to take care of Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack. The relevant theme of being controlled by screens however, will be explored through our new villain.
What do you think about the film's enigmatic antagnoist so far? Are you intrigued by the film's themes?