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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39013
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39013
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As you noted in your answer, the common approach to doing this is to just introduce another villain, or another threat, and keep doing that as necessary. The trick is to balance it in such a way that you don't cheapen the previous threats, and at the same time, you leave yourself room for further escalation in the future.

One concept I've found handy in this regard is "breather arcs" - arcs where you deliberately de-escalate the threat level and give the audience (and the characters) some time to relax and take stock, before ramping things back up again. That way you're not just constantly ramping the threat level up and up and up until [things get silly](https://pics.me.me/prokopetz-every-time-someone-tries-to-explain-the-metaplot-of-2812155.png).

Another thing to watch out for - and that's mentioned in the image linked above - is to make sure your new threats are introduced in a believable manner. If the previous villain's defeat is followed by the sudden emergence of a new villain, who's ten times as powerful but has somehow never been seen or mentioned before, readers are gonna think, "Wait, where did this guy _come_ from? Where's he been all this time?" Make sure your new threat fits into your story and your world properly, and isn't just clumsily shoehorned in for the sake of having a new threat.

Original score: 4