Yesterday the news Benedict Cumberbatch was playing the villain in the 2013 Star Trek sequel took the Internet by storm. Today the actor was doing press for Sherlock and he talked about the casting. Details below, plus some of the Internet speculation (and Photoshopping) for possible Star Trek roles the actor may be playing.
Cumberbatch "over the moon" over Star Trek casting
Today Benedict Cumberbatch, newly announced villain for the Star Trek sequel, participated in a TCA event promoting the second season of Sherlock coming to PBS in May. Cumberbatch was beaming in from the UK via satellite. While the focus was on Sherlock, he did get a question about Star Trek, saying (via Zap2It):
"There’s a lawyer standing here saying that I can’t say anything," says the actor. "I’m hugely, hugely excited and I’m very, very flattered. I’m very, very excited, but obviously I’m not here to talk about that. I will, in the future, I’m sure. I’m just getting my head around the fact that it’s happened. If you’ll forgive me, I’ll pass on that. But, my headline is that I’m over the moon."
Benedict Cumberbatch (via satelite) talks Star Trek
at PBS TCA event in Pasadena, CA – Jan. 5
Internet Star Trek speculation in overdrive
The casting of Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain in the Star Trek sequel has been huge news across the net in the last day, especially on the nerdier websites. The hot new actor is being welcomed by almost all commentators, moving on to speculation as to the specific role he will be playing. Previous speculation and rumor has focused on JJ Abrams and team bringing back Khan Noonien Singh, and in fact the guys at the MTV still think this is the case, even providing a Cumber-Khan Photoshop image.
MTV envision Cumberbatch as Khan
However, Cumberbatch’s extreme English-ness (and pallor) has led many other speculators to move away from Khan, although some commenters here at TrekMovie.com have suggested maybe he could be playing another frozen superman from the Botany Bay. UPDATE: TrekMovie reader Justin Olsen took to Photoshop to envision Cumberbatch as Star Trek II’s Khan henchman Juaquim.
Cumberbatch as Juaquim – complete with lens flare (Justin Olsen)
While there is no confirmation that the villain will even be from Star Trek’s past canon, most of the speculation tends to be searching Trek history for a possible match. The guys at Aint It Cool are asking the question "Is TV’s Sherlock playing Harry Mudd?" but they seem to be kidding around on that one. In fact Star Trek sequel co-writer/producer Bob Orci joked along with them with a comment here at TrekMovie.com earlier today saying “I just want to know how aicn figured out who he was playing.” Then again, maybe Bob is trying some kind of crafty misdirection by making a joke out of it (how is that for a conspiracy?). Moving on, the Star Trek collecting site 8of5 Guide to the Collective "cobbled together" this image speculating Cumberbatch as a Talosian, a Klingon or possibly even Trelane.
More Cumberbatch Star Trek villain possibilities (8of5)
Other possible suggestions from commenters here at TrekMovie include Garth of Izar, Sybok, Lazarus, the Romulan Commander from "Balance of Terror," Gary Seven, Gary Mitchell, and even Q. These of course vary in likelyhood. For example, the new Star Trek comics already dealth with Gary Mitchell, so he seems an unlikely candidate. And of course Harry Mudd isn’t exactly a sinister character. Plus would they go with Romulans again? Gary Seven and Garth of Izar on the other hand are interesting possibilities.
…and even more Star Trek villain speculations
POLL: Who do you think it is?
[poll=682]
Cumberbatch is a superb actor. This is great news!
The only one that looks ridiculous is the Klingon. The other pics all look acceptable.
He looks the Talosian part, but I vote ‘new alien villain.’
Too old for Charlie X?
Trelane and Khan both intriguing, but I hope it’s someone new. And Benedict Cumberbatch is just too pretty to hide under too much make-up, so I’m also hoping human. :)
And Q would be just wrong. I mean, I know it’s a reboot and all, but still. That’s not the right fit for the original series stuff.
Kodos? Or… is he too young?
I actually think he’d make a great Romulan. Of course they were just used in the last movie so that’s out.
MTV needs to move on from Khan, He is not Khan. My money is on him being A Gary 7, B Kang or C a brand new character.
Though I could easily picture him as a Trelane/Q type character as well.
Gorn Captain all the way.
LOL at Cumber-Khan!! I’m thinking its going to be a human villian or an alien that looks human (this is Star Trek after all.) Pretty faces sell and I dunno if they are gonna want to cover his up. As petty as this sounds, I think they know hot villian’s are far more popular among female movie-goers.
Not Khan. Mudd could be rewritten into something more on the evil side, but still wouldn’t be a good match against Kirk n crew. My guess is Garth.
Remember, is has to be a role that Benicio Del Toro would’ve fit too.
He’s Cyrano Jones…
He would definitely make a great Talosian. Good call on that one yesterday, Harry.
But I reckon Sybok is about to be brought in from the cold. :-D
I think he’d look very convincing with the ears and brows….
I wouldnt mind a new interpretation of Sybok, could be interesting. But my bet is either a new human villain or a new alien villain that plays off of something we’ve already seen.
If this were casting for an episode of a new Trek TV series, I would think Cumberbatch would make a great Lazarus. Unfortunately, I can’t come up with a scenario that lets the Lazarus storyline fit in a movie.
Please just don’t let it be Harry Mudd or Q. As much as Montalban was Khan, de Lancie is Q.
#12. A role one good actor or another good actor could play? That’s a tough one. True, one is Spanish, but then again, they’ve got a man of Korean decent playing a part that was portrayed by a Japanese American. They’re not exactly the same. Cumberbatch could be anybody (just not Khan).
That Sherlock show that Benedict Cumberbatch is in has gay undertones between him and Watson.
JJ Abrams said a few months back that Star Trek never mentioned gay people, and that he’d like to work it into the sequel. Elementary my dear!
Could there be a hidden Trek 2012 character clue in the “I’m over the moon” comment?
Uh, why would Gary Seven be a villain? I guess in this JJ version he might do a misguided and ill-suited thing like that.
Somebody do a photo shop of him as an Andorian.
I don’t get it… what is all this speculation based on? We don’t even know if it’s going to be a known character or a completely new one.
Is anyone else a little tired of all the speculation based on little more than what the actor looks like and what classic villain we could picture him playing?
Real information will spill soon enough.
21 thats the thing enough with this secret casting bs. they need to start saying who is playing what. Didnt JJ say once the villian was cast he would reveal who the villian was?
Too bad Spock is already cast. He has the requisite deep voice and facial structure, and can act.
Gary Seven, and Gary Mitchell were both one-off characters and I found neither of them interesting. Don’t see why fans want to see either of them again.
Mudd or Trelane would be OK but I imagine he was cast in part for the “alien-ness” of his face, so I assume we can count on a Klingon, Vulcan or Romulan.
With Trek ’09 taking place several years before TOS events, Garth fits. We could see him in fresh insanity with Kirk going after him a la heart of darkness/apocalypse now. Experienced mad man vs young and bold Kirk.
Fun to think about.
Also, they might be keeping silent about chars until the new game comes out. It’s supposed to tie in somehow, isn’t it?
I think we’ve been given enough information to ascertain that the villain will be a new character, that may have roots to a familiar character. I keep trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Vulcan has been destroyed, and what the possible ramifications that I may have taken for granted. Perhaps Nero was only a puppet, and the destruction of Vulcan, and thereby the domino ramification were simply the motivations of an even bigger enemy. The attack on Vulcan may have merely been a stepping stone to the ultimate destruction of the Federation itself…
While I find a lot of this guessing game almost silly, his extreme Britishness did make my mind leap to Chang.
But still … I’m not seriously suggesting that nor do I think he will be playing an established character. I’m content to wait until an announcement is made or a more substantive clue is given.
And anyway, on the subject of who’d play Gary Seven,…after watching The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and watching Daniel Craig’s interaction with the cat through the movie it suddenly dawned on me that he’d be a good Gary Seven. The relationship between Seven and the cat is what it was all about. Craig seemed to act and react to the cat the way Lansing did in the Assignment: Earth episode. There was a relationship there and both men seemed to get cats. My two cents if they ever make the show of it. Just saying.
Don’t forget they’ve been searching especially for latin actors to cast this role before.
I’m sure it’s a character with somehow a latin touch. Certainly Cumberbatch as Not-Latin got this role because of his outstanding casting performance.
Craig would be way too old for Gary Seven.
Cumberbatch is such a brilliant actor that I think he may overshadow the rest of the cast. He’s in a different league to the others. If the script writes a good villain (which I’m not sure it will based on film 1) then he’ll blow everyone away.
Check out all his work on http://www.youtube.com/user/romangirl88 Virtually all hsi work is on there and some great interviews. He’s a wonderful mimic and good fun. He is outsanding as Stephen Hawking and as Van Gogh. http://www.youtube.com/user/romangirl88#g/c/EA965C87917E037B
He was great as stephan hawking, he also did the narration for into the universe with stephan hawking, tinker tailor solder spy,
i want garth of izar, but although the context would be different (conquering the universe instead of simple revenge) i also think they won’t go for a mad man again. Kodos and gary Seven sound interesting too but with Cumberbatch, i think Trelane or Q seem more suitable roles. Anyway, i am happy with the casting, he is a brilliant actor.
32.
People. Get it through your thick skulls: It’s been stated several times by several members of the production that they are going in a new, O-R-I-G-I-N-A-L dircection with the sequel. That means no Khan, no Terlane, no Harry Mudd and probably no Klingons. That’s a good thing!
Trelane. Wish these posts could be edited. : )
@ 18 Andrestheman
Those so-called ‘gay undertones’ you refer to in ‘Sherlock’ are actually merely a running joke through some of the episodes, and nothing more.
Circumstances caused these two guys to end up sharing premises together, and Watson (who is absolutely heterosexual) ends up having to point out this fact to certain people along the way who MISTAKENLY assume that they are a ‘couple’! His protestations humourously leave him kind of exasperated. ‘Sherlock’ himself has been left a little more vague along the way, but judging by the first episode of the new series, his interest certainly seems to veer towards the ladies.
Just sayin’, in case anyone who hasn’t caught this ‘modern day’ take on the characters yet get the wrong idea about it, lol.
My faith in the next movie will be restored if they do a new villain.
They hould really drop the Khan thing as no matter what, JJ Abrams take on Khan will be inferior to what has already been done so that’s go to something new.
@6. I’ve been kind of hoping that they would have Kodos as the villain. But with Nero in the last movie I don’t think they’ll be basing the movie around another genocidal maniac.
Guess he’s a Vulcan who wants radical responses to Vulcan’s destruction…?
He’ll play Finnegan, from the TOS episode “Shore Leave.” Finnegan will have gone insane, commandeered a starship, and threatened galactic peace. Kirk will then beat him up in an elaborately staged fist fight scene.
I voted Q because I think he could do it. Not saying I think there will be a Q in the new movie;I really don’t know what will play out! Very excited to find out though!! :D
#39,Jackson Roykirk,that sounds good!! I could see that going down! :)
@ 36 captain_neill
They did a ‘new’ villain in the first reboot too. It’s no guarantee of quality…
I agree that ‘Khan’ has been done terrifically already however, and there’s other decent ‘TOS’ villains that I’d prefer to see ‘re-imagined’, if they don’t go with something completely new again.
@ 38 NCC-73515
*If* he turns out to be a ‘Vulcan’ in that type of storyline, then I hope that it’s a ‘re-imagining’ of nu-‘Spock’s’ half-Vulcan brother ‘SYBOK’…because if the sequel’s a hit, then it might just interest the studio in doing an improved, enhanced cut of the ‘Final Frontier’ after all, lol!
Gary Seven isn’t “evil.”
I accidentally voted for “a new human villian” when I meant “a new alien villain.” Maybe many others made the same mistake.
I also think a villain out for revenge or has genocidial plans on planets should be avoided in the next movie as I feel the last three Trek movies had had a villain with these goals.
The TOS episode featuring Garth was a poor re-make of the classic season 1 episode “Dagger of the Mind.” I don’t think it will be Garth, but if so the previous post #24 does sound like a fun plot.
How about Roger Korby, Nurse Chapel’s robotized fiancé from TOS “What Are Little GIrls Made Of?” With Ashley Greene or Amber Heard as Andrea. (“To kiss you… To love you…” Zap!)
My first thought was the Romulan Commander from “Balance of Terror”; he looks it. As has been said, he’d make a great Romulan. And don’t say “that’s out” because of what Abrams said before; he also said not long ago “everything’s on the table”.
I can also see the Talosian; Cumberbatch has a good otherworldly look for that.
I’d say Gary Mitchell but the IDW comics — already discussed as canon by Orci & Co. — killed him off in the first couple of issues.
He does have the look for Gary Seven, though Seven seemed to be older. Then again, Alice Eve could be Teri Garr’s character, couldn’t she?
@Trekker5 “Have ya had enough, Jimmy-boy?”
But seriously. I’m hoping that the 2nd JJ Abrams Star Trek movie will be “The Klingon Movie” of the series. Klingons were cut from the 2009 film, they deserve a full-scale re-imagining, and that means world-class actors such as Cumberbatch.
The problem with that idea is that 47 Klingon ships were destroyed by Nero and the Narada. Who’s left to battle Kirk and the Enterprise? Maybe Cumberbatch can play a rogue Klingon, like Sean Connery’s Marko Ramius in The Hunt For Red October. Is he defecting and bringing a flagship vessel with him? Or is he insane and intent on starting an all-out war? Hmmm…
Either Gary or Klingon!