I do think there's an issue of political correctness at play. Top Gun had evil Ruskies, but somehow Maverick just can't name its bad guys for fear of offending someone somewhere. Part of it is greater awareness of other people in the world, part is global markets, but there's also the general sense that depicting a nation as a bad guy is gonna create an uproar no matter who is used.

Then there's the fact that a lot of people latch on to bad guys these days. Whether it's the Joker in The Dark Knight or in the eponymous Joker, social media freaks out at bad characters that can be interpreted as role models. Heck, Thanos was a genocidal maniac yet r/thanosdidnothingwrong was a thing.