- Benedict Cumberbatch: From Sherlock to space villain? Photocredit: publicity still
Star Trek 2 is almost upon us. Almost: it’s still in pre-production. The biggest news around is that Benedict Cumberbatch (who plays Sherlock in the BBC adaptation, and the dragon Smaug in the new film of The Hobbit) will play the villain – supposedly Khan Noonien Singh, who was also the villain in the sequel to the original run of Star Trek films. Benicio del Toro was up for the part before, but turned it down. The film has been written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof. What we do know for sure is that Captain Kirk will be played by Chris Pine, and that Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the Enterprise crew will be back; they’ll also be joined by British actress Alice Eve. It will be directed by JJ Abrams, and is due to hit cinemas in 2013.
It’s not Khan. But the Khan rumours have been deflated, said Reelz.com, who quoted Bryan Burk, the producer. He says that the villain will be “original and unique and different.”
And Cumberbatch couldn’t play Khan. Cumberbatch is everywhere, said Katey Rich on Cinema Blend. Sure, he’s “well-qualified” with his “British snootiness”, which will be a great contrast to the “cocky American” Chris Pine, who plays Captain Kirk. So this seems “to belie the recurring rumor” that the villian will be Khan – since Khan, after all, was Indian, though played by a Mexican-American actor. Cumberbatch “won’t pass as an Indian character.” So who is he playing? Is Cumberbatch going to be different?
Will he play a giant super-computer? Cumberbatch is a “steal”, gushed Giant Freakin Robot. But since he can’t play Khan – who will he be playing? GFR’s theory is that, since Noel Clarke has also been hired, and Clarke is a “dead ringer” for William Marshall, who played Richard Daystrom in the TV series, and since Daystrom makes an evil super-computer; then the only logical solution is that Cumberbatch will be playing the “rogue computer.” The theory works – apart from “one, tiny hole.” You wouldn’t expect Benicio del Toro to be the voice of an “evil super computer.”
Who knows? Slashfilm said that Simon Pegg, who has heard the story about Star Trek 2, says in an interview with MTV that the name of Khan isn’t even mentioned. But there will, apparently, be “alien sex.”
