James Royal: New 'Star Trek' photo offers clues about villain's identity
BY JAMES ROYAL World Scene Writer
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
12/12/12 at 3:15 AM
See the extended teaser for “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
Original Print Headline: New 'Trek' photo offers clues
Paramount Pictures released the first photo from "Star Trek Into Darkness" on Monday, and the caption reveals the name of Benedict Cumberbatch's character, the villain in the new movie.
Paramount's caption to the photo reads: "(Left to right) Zachary Quinto is Spock, Benedict Cumberbatch is John Harrison and Chris Pine is Kirk in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions."
So, Cumberbatch's character is John Harrison. A quick Google search didn't bring up any previous "Star Trek" characters with that name, so this may be a new character.
Or this could be a red herring. Either the name could be entirely fake, or Cumberbatch's character might use the name as a fake in the movie to hide his identity from the crew of the Enterprise. That would make the caption correct (sort of) and still leave open the possibility of Cumberbatch being Khan Noonien Singh or Gary Mitchell.
Oklahomans will recognize Cumberbatch's face, if not his accent, from "August: Osage County," which was filmed in Bartlesville and Pawhuska this fall. Although Cumberbatch used a Southern accent for his role in that film, his "Star Trek" character sounds closer to his native British.
The image does seem to put to rest (for now) the speculation that the Japanese trailer pointed toward Cumberbatch playing Khan. The trailer showed Spock and another character putting their palms together through a clear barrier, reminiscent of a scene from "The Wrath of Khan." That barrier would be the one Harrison is behind in the picture released Monday.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" opens May 17, 2013.
Associated Images:
Zachary Quinto (left), Benedict Cumberbatch and Chris Pine star in "Star Trek Into Darkness." The studio finally gives insight into who Cumberbatch's character is, after months of speculation about which villain he might be playing. Paramount Pictures / Courtesy
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