At this rate, I’m not even sure if people who’ve seen Star Trek Into Darkness from start to finish can tell us with any certainty if Benedict Cumberbatch is playing Khan in the sequel. Leading up to the film’s release, every but of news about the villain’s identity has been a confirmation, denial, misdirection and half truth, so that even when an actual cast member comes out and says Cumberbatch is NOT playing Khan, we kind of don’t want to believe them.
Alice Eve was the latest Into Darkness actor to say that Cumbercatch is “not playing Khan,” which she repeated on the red carpet of the BAFTAs. Listen to her say it yourself (at the 00:36 mark of the following clip), and decide whether you believe her.
These poor people, forced to answer the Khan question again and again until we finally see the movie and learn the true identity of Cumberbatch’s character. The media (and yes, I guess I’m guilty) have sunk our teeth into this possibility like dogs attacking a steak. And why? Is it simply because Khan was the villain in the second original Star Trek movie? And because he was the most memorable villain, we automatically assume – in a lazy fashion – that J.J. Abrams and his team can ONLY pull him from the Trek archives? There are hundreds of threats from the Star Trek universe that can be put to good use on this new timeline. I, for one, believe Alice Eve. But we’ll know for sure when Star Trek Into Darkness arrives in theaters on May 17.
For everything else we know about Star Trek Into Darkness-- including official images in addition to all these crazy rumors-- click here.
