Will The First Nine Minutes Of Star Trek Into Darkness Reveal Who Benedict Cumberbatch Will Play?
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This Friday, December 14th, the first nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness will premiere before IMAX 3D screenings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. There has been a lot of buzz around the film, mainly due to the mystery of the film’s villain, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and fans are clutching at any new hints that come along. For those who were hoping that mystery would be solved within the film’s first nine minutes, prepare to be disappointed.
According to CinemaBlend.com’s Eric Eisenberg, the footage only hints at the Cumberbatch’s role in Star Trek Into Darkness. While his character is a mystery, many feel that it’s either iconic Star Trek villain Khan or ex-Starfleet Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell from the Original Series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” The footage suggests it might be Gary Mitchell, but the Japanese trailer hinted that it might be Khan. Who will be the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness? Here’s what Eisenberg has to say:
The first half of the footage begins with Noel Clarke and Kayla Hassan as parents visiting their sick child – who appears to be losing her hair – in the hospital. We see Cumberbatch come up from behind Clarke while he is standing on a terrace grieving and the mystery man says, ‘I can save her. I can save your daughter.’ As an extra tease, Clarke actually asks Cumberbatch who he is, but instead of getting an answer we just get a slow zoom on the Sherlock actor’s face. So we know that his character has some kind of healing ability – whether he’s a doctor or it’s something supernatural – but we remain in the dark about his actual name.
What follows is seven minutes of re-introducing the characters from the first film. The cast is split into two groups: Kirk and McCoy running around on a planet infested by red plants, while Uhura, Sulu, and Spock are in a hovercraft on the same world, dealing with an erupted volcano. It sounds like it will be a thrilling opening sequence.
The concern is that the movie is six months away and we still have no solid word on who the villain will be. Considering that we’re in the age of the Internet and social media, you’ve got to hand it to Abrams and company for keeping the villain’s identity under wraps for so long. Hopefully this will pay off for in quality and box office of Star Trek Into Darkness.
But from everything we’ve been hearing, reading, and watching regarding Star Trek Into Darkness, Gary Mitchell still seems a more likely possibility than Khan — assuming Cumberbatch isn’t playing somebody else entirely. We’ll just have to wait and see if we’re proven right.
