Calvin was the owner of the plantation, had control over Broomhilda, and was the villain most promoted and the one who most directly drove the plot.
Stephen was the one who more or less ran the plantation, caused misery for Broomhilda and other slaves under Calvin's control, and was the final villain Django had to take down.
"Lives with no meaning go straight past you, like trains that don’t stop at your station."
Calvin.
shareStephen is merely The Dragon, like Darth Vader to The Emperor.
shareWhen given the chance Darth Vader showed he was human still. He showed he still cared about other people. Unlike Stephen who was like the Emperor who used Darth Vader's power to further himself (like Stephen used Calvin's position of power for himself so he could be superior to his fellow 'black' people). He didn't even like the smart 'black' guy because he looked stupid in comparison.
shareI'd say Stephen. In the end, Stephen is shown as a manipulative pissant and he was constantly fueling the fire against Django since he didn't like the message he sent. Though Calvin was the iconic villian, Stephen was the real one
shareStephen since he called his fellow 'black' people the n word like he wasn't one of them and kept turning them in to further himself. He denied that part of himself and thought he was white and superior. He would have even agreed about the dimples in the skulls of every other 'black' person but himself. Calvin was just a racist profiteer while Stephen was the driver who was also a traitor to his "own people" who he treated like dirt and had no feelings of empathy for.
shareTheir both technically main protagonist from different angles. It's really a black and white thing.... and I mean that in a literal fashion.
Calvin: Was the main "White" villain who was running that particular slave show at Candie Land.
Stephen: Was the main "Black" villain who sold out and can be seen as a traitor by his own people. He was kind of a character foil to Django's act as a "black slave trader". We the audience know that Django was playing a long game to liberate his wife and eventually he liberated the whole planation. For Django this was a very personal reflection of his act. Stephen lived like a king over the rest of the black folks there and he treated them like slaves. He made a huge deal in his opening scene about Django being treated like a white man.
I definitely conclude that they are both "main" villains but for different reasons. Calvin was running the show, but with Stephan we had a much more complicated social and moral issues at play. Both characters needed their highlights in the spotlight to make the story work and bring clarity to the plot.
Stephen was the more dangerous of the two...
...Schultz and Django likely would have gotten away with their con job to rescue Brunhilda if they'd only had to fool Calvin Candie...but the smarter and more diabolical Stephen figured out Django and his love for Brunhilda and took Calvin into the study to alert him to the con. Calvin emerged from that meeting enraged and sadistic, to be sure, but only because Stephen let the cat out of the bag.
Samuel L. Jackson got political about this: he saw Calvin as George W. Bush...and Stephen as Dick Cheney.
Steven absolutely. He was in control of Calvin behind the scenes. He ran the plantation. Calvin was just a rich asshole.
shareStephen was the main antagonist of the story, not Candie. Candie was a "helper agent" of sorts.
The third act climax was a fight between Stephen and Django, not Stephen and Candie. If Stephen was being ordered by Candie to kill Django or to simply stop him from rescuing Broomdhilda, than narratively Candie would be the main antagonist, because a fight against Stephen is just a fight against Candie taking a different form. But Candie dies, and the and the protagonist's goal isn't achieved because we find out that Stephen is still keeping her held. If Stephen didn't manipulate Candie to cancel the transaction, than Candie would willingly sell Broomhilda back to Schultz. If Stephen wasn't there, Schultz would say, "I'll give you money" and there would be no story. The goal is completed. Easy peasy. Stephen was preventing that from happening. Once Candie was willing to give Broomhilda back as long as he is given money, he was no longer in opposition to Django's goal, which means he is not an antagonist by definition. Stephen was the main point of conflict, constantly getting in the way of Django struggle to reunite with Broomhilda.
Stephen is the antagonist.
If Stephen was a monster, he was a monster created by Candie and his fellow slave owners. Therefore, Candie is really the main villain, even if Stephen was a bigger personal threat to Django.