As we reported yesterday, JJ Abrams brought footage of Star Trek Into Darkness (along with stars Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch) to Tokyo to promote the film to Asian press. Today we have photos from the event along with some of the comments from the Trek team reported in the Japanese media. [NO SPOILERS]
Abrams, Pine and Cumberbatch Promote Trek To Press in Tokyo
Star Trek Into Darkness producer/director JJ Abrams was in Tokyo on Tuesday to show the Asian press the first nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness. He was joined by fellow producer Bryan Burk along with stars Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch. Reports from the Japanese media appear to be adhering to an embargo with regards to a description of the footage shown, so fans may have to wait until that footage is shown to the public with IMAX screenings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, starting on December 14th.
Cumberbatch, Abrams, Pine and Burk at Tokyo Star Trek presentation (WireImage)
However, there are a number of reports on the event from the Japanese press which share some of the comments from Abrams, Pine and Cumberbatch.
NOTE: The below quotes from the Japanese media have been translated (by our Japanese correspondent Ateban). Going from English to Japanese and back to English is bound to lose something.
Cumberbatch On Good and Evil Of His Character And Fear Of Taking On Trek
Cumberbatch: "I was a fan of the [2009 Star Trek], so I was pleased when I get the offer. But I know the second one will become far-bigger scale, so I felt terror instantly." (cinematoday.jp)
Cumberbatch: (on his character) "He is very ruthless…He is not a clearly good or evil character. He is a villain but the actions he takes has intent and reason." (cinematoday.jp)
Cumberbatch: "He is a complicated character not to be judged by white-or-black, or good-or-evil. But this is the appeal of J.J.’s works and I felt challenge as an actor." (cinemacafe.net)
Cumberbatch greets fans outside Tokyo event (Guardian)
Abrams Talks Cumberbatch Character, Darkness title and more
Abrams: (on Cumberbatch’s character) "The character is a villain and scary, but I was looking for an actor with humanity who audiences can sympathies with. When I saw Benedict in Sherlock, I wanted to convince him whatever it took. I expected a lot from him, but Benedict responded by acting beyond my expectations." (to which Cumberbatch responded "This may be better than Sherlock. (laughs)"
Abrams: "The movie is filled with all elements I love such as action, adventure, the unexpected and thrills." (EIGA.com)
Abrams: (on the title) "I would avoid saying ‘Part 2’ and hate titles with colons. This time, each characters steps deeper into darkness. It reflects that." "No matter how great visual effects, it means nothing if characters don’t have appeal. Particularly, this movie has theme that Kirk and crew are ‘tried’ in face of an unexpected and horrible event." (EIGA.com)
Abrams: (on one of the themes) "[The film is about] whatever you can do for someone you love." (cinematoday.jp)
Abrams: "The movie is filled with all elements I like very much…I wanted to make a movie like this since my childhood." (cinematoday.jp)
Abrams: "Movies can’t work out with spectacle only. Audiences must feel and love the characters. The previous movie started where the characters weren’t familiar with each other, but this time they encounter unexpected crisis as a group with a bond. (cinema.pia.co.jp)
Abrams flanked by his stars Cumberbatch and Pine at Tokyo Star Trek presentation (Galaxie Mag)
Pine: Bigger Movie Sets Selfish Kirk Aside
Pine: "I am proud that the movie is scaled up from the previous one. At the same time, the characters filled with humanity. This is sci-fi, but you’ll enjoy down-to-earth drama…Kirk was selfish before, but he matures humanly. Confronting with anger and conflict, he became a leader with mind of self-sacrifice." (EIGA.com)
Pine: "In the previous movie, Kirk was a selfish young man. This time, as a leader, he grows up to be a man leading everyone despite getting out of his mind. I my acting is influenced by growing as an adult in the last four years." (cinematoday.jp)
Chris Pine mugs for the camera at Tokyo event (WireImage)
A big thanks to Ateban for his translations
Sounds exciting… I am hoping some spoilers leak.
Gasp! Kirk’s eyes are blue here, whereas historically they’ve been brown!
Conclusion: Pine is playing Gary Mitchell.
No word on who CB is. Wow. How do they go for 9 minutes without revealing it. I wish they did release it but I’m impressed that they accomplished that goal of secrecy.
LoL #2 That was the funniest… I swear if you look closely at the backdrop behind the three you can see a tribble. I think Cumby is playing the giant tribble from the animated series… ;-)
Better than Sherlock? (gasp) (faints hoping it’s true)
FInally an article.
further more Cumberbatch’s description of his character is just another example of this NOT being Khan.
It’s Gary Mitchell, the writing is on the wall.
oh by the way if your in L.A. the Hero coplex IMAX screening of the hobbit, has its free tickets up now. not sure if they will play the into darkness 9 mins before it or not, but worth taking a look
http://herocomplexthehobbit2012.eventbrite.com/#
yessssssssssss
*Tapping on my desk*
Where are the spoilers?!
;)
Just hope that the dialog and story is profound ad leaves room for a discussion of ideas and motives after the movie is over and not another dumb Hollywood actioner.
10 more days, the anticipation is driving me up the wall.
Good marketing campaign… I haven’t seen this much anticipation for something Trek since the Best of Both Worlds cliffhanger… Anyone else remember how awful long that summer was???
Aaron, at least we had our home-made video tapes of the season to rewatch, and weekly reairings leading up to it. That was pre-Internet-video-everywhere.
So, will the threequel be “Star Trek Into Light” then? Or will Into Darkness end with a picture of the Botany Bay in deep space, being detected on long range scanners? Something like a “Star Trek Lives!” for a title?
Gary Mitchell was a bad ass in TOS
Is Pine wearing heels?
#11: “Anyone else remember how awful long that summer was???”
I do indeed! By comparison, the wait for May 17 seems short.
– Harry
“STAR TREK – STRANGE NEW WORLDS”, could be a title for the Threequel.
Or “Star Trek – New Civilizations”.
Chris Pine – “In the previous movie, Kirk was a selfish young man. This time, as a leader, he grows up to be a man leading everyone despite getting out of his mind. I my acting is influenced by growing as an adult in the last four years.”
How was Kirk a selfish young man? He may have been overconfident, but selfish? Even though he had been put on academic suspension, when he realised that the Enterprise was very likely being led into a trap, he did his best to warn the captain. If he had been wrong, then it is more than likely that he could have been kicked out of Starfleet altogether. I cannot believe he would not have been aware of the risks to his career, but the stakes were much higher than his own personal career opportunities.
There were so many examples of selfless risk taking on Kirk’s part in the first movie and once he got the chair, he was fully aware of the responsibility he just taken on. He did not need to go with Spock onto the Narada but he did…
Where and how was Kirk selfish? The capacity for self-sacrifice was evident in the first movie.
Chris Pine – please explain Kirk to me. Thank you.
I’d goped there’d be some descriptions of this footage today on the fan boards.. (surely their must be Japanese fans around here??) but alas…
and by Goped, I mean hoped
#17 – There’s nothing to explain. Pine said that Kirk was a selfish young man but that “he became a leader with mind of self-sacrifice.” Kirk was selfish by caring more about winning the Kobayashi Maru than learning its lessons; by using a young woman to cheat the simulation; by using McCoy’s help to sneak onto Enterprise instead of taking his lumps; and so on. But by the end of the movie, “he became a leader with mind of self-sacrifice.” That’s part of what makes this version of Kirk work so well for a lot of us: He starts out brash and selfish, but he instantly steps up to selfless command when confronted with the need and opportunity.
No mystery here, no explanation needed.
Bear in mind not to get too hung up on wording, as noted in article this stuff has gone through two translations. So try and just get the gist of it
The villain has been revealed. According to the second picture from above, it’s … Adolf Hitler… Who would have seen that coming? The teaser poster shows “The Second Blitz of London”…Just kiddin’
Or maybe it’s just John Gill…that would explain those Nazi uniforms in Starfleet…
Anyway, a very unlucky shot of Cumby…especially with all the fans screaming at him as if he was you know who…
Let’s stop kidding ourselves, shall we? We all know the villain is Garth of Izar.
@24: C’mon. That was a joke, right?
Mark James Tucker. Not thrilled with the ‘why hasn’t Anthony written about this yet/Finally an article” — what the guy’s supposed to work 24/7? It was a press conference IN JAPAN. And, yesterday — no English-language sites, other than Trekweb, had stories on it even happening before the event.
I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but laugh at that translation! LMAO!! I know that some elements get lost in the translation, but some of the basic grammar could have easily been fixed there. LOL.
PaulB – Incorrect. There is something to explain…
“Kirk was selfish by caring more about winning the Kobayashi Maru than learning its lessons”
Selfishness implies that there is more taking than giving. How is wanting to win the Kobayashi Maru simulation test selfish? He was calling the test out for the nonsense that it was and nonsense it is! How did his actions hurt or diminish anyone else? What lessons did he need to learn? He did not have a father. He knew all about no-win scenarios and what they could mean for those left behind. In fact, it was Pike who showed him a different perspective by saying to him “Your father did not believe in the no-win scenario” and then said, “Well, you’re here, aren’t you?…”
“by using a young woman to cheat the simulation”
That was not shown in the final cut of the movie. There is a reason why scenes get deleted. We have no idea who helped him or if indeed anyone helped him at all. I don’t consider deleted scenes to be canon.
“by using McCoy’s help to sneak onto Enterprise instead of taking his lumps”
He did not use McCoy at all. McCoy offered him help; “I couldn’t stand seeing you look all pathetic” or words to that effect. Of course, Kirk was disappointed at not being allowed to go on the mission and for being put on academic suspension, something incidentally he had not been told, until he queried why his name had not been read out. Clearly, McCoy did not agree with the ruling and decided to help him. Kirk did not go up to McCoy and ask him. All Kirk said was “Be safe” and stood where he was, letting McCoy go.
Therefore, I maintain that Kirk was not selfish. He was reasonably confident, intelligent, deductive and capable of self-sacrifice. You could say that such tendencies were in his *blood*!
Garth of Izar… I would like that. I would like to see an Original Series villain, as long as it’s not Khan (nothing against Khan per se, but I’d like to see someone that wasn’t in the movies).
Let’s get three things out of the way:
1) It’s obviously not Khan.
2) It’s obviously not Garth of Izar.
3) It’s obviously not Gary Seven.
Man alive they are gonna drag this thing out as long as they possibly can! Someone in the Japanese press will reveal something online in the next few days. You can’t show footage from something as heavily shrouded in mystery as this film and not expect someone to let something slip. I predict we will know the villain on this thing by Friday.
As far as what was said by all: it was the same vague things they have been saying for awhile now. I am still sticking with my prediction of Khan as the villain until I see compelling evidence otherwise. These guys love TDK, no seriously they LOVE it! They are gonna take another page from Nolan’s playbook and use Trek’s most recognizable and iconic villain.
I am fine with Khan if they really reinvent his origin and who he is. Throw alittle Carol Marcus in there and you got an interesting take on TWOK.
Would as “mind-blowing”, “epic”, large-scale spectacle of a movie really have a villain named… “Gary”? That wouldn’t put asses in seats. C’mon, people…
@30:
There we go again. Agreed with 3. It can’t be Gary Seven. But it COULD be either Khan or Garth of Izar, especially the latter: “epic chess game of life and death” rings “Queen to Queen’s level 3” and he is an inside foe within Starfleet, a megalomaniac of the worst kind and has connections to both Kirk and Pike. His name also has a Star Wars touch and JJ loves Star Wars…Darth Garth of Izar…
As for Khan, as I haven pointed out in another thread, while he is the most unlikely of the Big Three (Mitchell, Garth, Khan), he could still be the foe IF he is further genetically enhanced by ESPer experiments that turn him into a true one-man WMD.
So no, we cannot rule out either of those two. While Gary Mitchell still seems to most tangible candidate (most destructive potential through ESP powers, shiny eyes, potential presence of Doctor Dehner, torpedeo funeral in the comic book, ability to fake death, former buddy of Kirk, inside Starfleet etc.), it could still be someone else.
I hope it’s not a lame original villain losely based on some TOS ideas. We had plenty of “original” villains and they all turned out to be 007 foes in space, be it Shinzon, Soran or even Nero. Plus it does not make sense to reboot the TOS timeframe and neglect all potential classic villains this era has to offer. They are all, after all, part of the most iconic Star Trek series…even Belok or a killer Tribble would be a lot better than any made-up new name…
@32: Die Hard’s Hans Gruber isn’t much of a treat either for a villain’s name…neither was Gustav Graves or Dominic Greene.
Gary Mitchell may sound very generic and a tad too casual, but that’s the idea… a Tom, Dick and Harry propelled into epic illusions of grandeur by extraordinary powers…
Oh that’s great, they go to Japan and right now we do not understand the interview! …lol… okay I’m kidding!
# 14. Admiral Kent… What are you talking about … Chris Pine wearing heels? Gosh! … and Why would he do that? LOL
a better picture here:
http://chrispinephotos.org/displayimage.php?pid=28814&fullsize=1
“Someone in the Japanese press will reveal something online in the next few days. You can’t show footage from something as heavily shrouded in mystery as this film and not expect someone to let something slip. I predict we will know the villain on this thing by Friday.”
Only IF the footage reveals anything about the villain’s identity. If they just show a superpowered Human with shiny eyes who can do force lightenings and telekinesis, it MAY be Mitchell but also any other villain exposed to the energy of the Galactic Barrier… something that could happen to anyone… maybe on puprose AFTER the Mitchell incident. I don’t think they’ll show the villain popping up saying “Hi Christopher, I’m Mitchell, Gary Mitchell” in those 9 minutes or the trailers. His identity might still remain a mystery up to May…
#6–the Khan of Space Seed is consistent with the description above. He’s not Ahab, not out and out evil, until TWOK. Kirk and Khan respect each other at the end of Seed.
I’m not saying I think it’s Khan. I don’t. But I don’t think that particular description in and of itself rules him out. That we know he’s “one of their own” does. Khan is many things, but he’s not even of the same century let alone the same organization as our heroes.
Who the villain is likely to be depends on what lie Bob Orci is supposed to have told us.
If the villain is not iconic – then it leaves out most of the characters mentioned, but could be someone who in the prime timeline is of no great importance but in the alternate universe, things are a bit different about and for this person
If the villain is not from the TOS TV or movie series – then it leaves out all of the characters mentioned
That leaves us with
(a) a character from the Enterprise series,
(b) a character like Q or one of Guinan’s people, ie who is not bound by time, universes etc in the way other beings are, or
(c) an original character created for this movie.
In other words, it could be absolutely anyone, including someone we have never heard of.
GAAAARRRRRRRYYYY!!!!!!!
#34. Smike
The problem is for the demographic Paramount’s hoping to seat, Gary conjures the image of one of the most popular (and arguably most intelligent) characters in SpongeBob’s Bikini Bottom. You don’t want to have tittering and LOL everytime the villain’s name is spoken.
And having the Big E underwater wont help that either. Lord help them if they mention Spock Prime’s Jellyfish.
They’ll leave the theater singing “SpongeSpock SquareSpanx…”
JAWS23rd:We’re gonna need a bigger starship.
“GARY” is not coming to a theater near you. Although, I admit I am disappointed to not be able to hear Gary’s badass theme music when he saunters onscreen.
#42. Max
You mean the one that identifies his point of origin? “Gary, Indiana. Gary, Indiana…”?
I’ve come to the conclusion that we are simply overlooking the obvious, if it’s Mitchell. And that is that there seems no reason for Karl Urban to have blurted out that Cumby’s Gary Mitchell was well-played, had Cumby been playing Khan or any other non-Mitchell character.
It would be as if a star from the Batman franchise had said that Ledger’s Joker was awesomely played; are we to conclude from this, prior to knowing that Ledger was playing The Joker, that Ledger could have been playing, say, The Riddler?
According to one source on the Expanded Trek Universe, Gary Mitchell’s last name is “Keillor.” A slight improvement over the SpongeBob connotations (if that) if “Gary.”
I must say that I am not of the SpongeBob generation, being, of course, much, much, much, much younger, being a mere babe in swaddling clothes, so I could be wrong.
See: http://stexpanded.wikia.com/wiki/Gary_Mitchell
On the Karl Urban comments about Mitchell…
There is no way, based on how seriously JJ and Paramount take the secrecy of these movies, that Urban would simply let it slip that Gary Mitchell is the villain. The comments in that interview were either a flat-out calculated ploy to distract fans or it was nothing but a real fan making a joke that he thought other fans would appreciate. (I don’t have to bring up the comics for the 1000th time)
Orci stating the villain was “from canon” can simply mean that the villain plays out of a canonical storyline or concept, rather than being a specific villain from a previous incarnation of Trek. It could be an augment. It could be Section 31. It could be Terra Prime. All of those were great concepts that could fuel a compelling storyline in the Ambramsverse.
In short, I can’t wait until all this speculation is proven completely wrong. None of it will matter anyway if the movie is truly great.
#44. Hat Rick
Except Urban and his father are huge ToS fans. Very likely could be merely a fan insider joke.
https://trekmovie.com/2008/01/09/k
@SirBroiler (46) and @Disinvited (47), thank you for the responses.
I am only half-following the Urban aspect of the story so I may have missed it, but did he ever explain away the Mitchell reference or back away from it, jocularly or otherwise? I curious about that.
BC wears a suit better than any of these guys. I think it says more about the suit than the guys, though. They should all be able to pull it off so well.
#48. Hat Rick
Search for “Garrison Keillor” in regular wikipedia to get that inside humor.
If memory serves Karl also promised to reveal all with some behind the scenes footage with the slip. His footage was a big goof.