The Commandant

The Commandant is the main antagonist of the 2005 war novel Beasts of No Nation, as well as its 2015 film adaptation. He is the leader of a Native Defense Force rebel battalion in an unnamed West African country. He recruits Agu, a preadolescent boy, as a child soldier.

He is portrayed by Idris Elba, who also portrayed Colin Evans in No Good Deed.

History
The Commandant leads a rebel army in a civil war in an African country, and recruits children in his battalion; those who fail their training are killed. A recently-orphaned boy, Agu, is forcibly recruited into the battalion, where he meets a mute boy named Strika. The Commandant forces Agu to kill an unarmed man to prove his loyalty, amongst other acts of violence. The Commandant and his battalion commit acts of brutality throughout the land, raiding and destroying villages and massacring and raping their victims. At one point, the Commandant rapes Agu (he is implied to do this to the other child soldiers as well).

When the leader of the rebel group announces his plan to demote the Commandant due to his actions and promotes his lieutenant in his place, the Commandant kills the lieutenant. In an act of spite, he leads his battalion in an attack against the rest of the rebel group. Ultimately, after months of hardship, the battalion disbands, abandoning the Commandant.

Trivia

 * In the original novel, the Commandant is killed by the new lieutenant, Rambo.