Friday, December 7, 2012

First Star Trek trailer indicates the villain is Khan

The first trailer for the next Star Trek movie has come out. Star Trek Into Darkness opens on May 17, 2013. But we get clues as to which villain Benedict Cumberbatch will play. I believe it's Khan.

First check out TrekMovie.com's excellent breakdown for the trailer. Now, I've posted my thoughts on that post as Basement Blogger. On this site, I will do the same but also embed the Japanese version of the trailer below because it has a couple of extra scenes.

This trailer indicates the bad guy is Khan. Let's take a look at the voice over narration by Cumberbatch.

"You think your world is safe? It is an illusion. A comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace for I have returned to have my vengeance."

First, we know that Cumberbatch's character is canon. In the trailer, we see that he's a human. He exhibits super-strength in dispatching Klingons. He also is seen wielding a laser weapon. Now if he's Gary Mitchell from the original series, Where No Man Has Gone Before, he would use telekinesis. Of course, the comment about vengeance makes sense for Khan since he was exiled or fled from earth after ruling a large section of the planet as a tyrant. See the original series episode, Space Seed.

Alice Eve. She plays a character that is also canon. If Cumberbatch is Khan, then she is Carol Marcus, the mother of Kirk's son. First, her hairstyle is similar to Marcus' from the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." In the trailer, check out the romantic looks between her and Chris Pine's Kirk. Eve prepared for the role by watching all the original series episodes. She seems to have focused on Kirk. Why would she do that? My guess is to create chemistry between her character and Kirk.

Couple this trailer with the evidence. There was a search for a Hispanic actor to play the villain ala Ricardo Montalban from The Wrath of Khan; and the commentary on the 2009 movie about a scene with the Botany Bay, Of course there is the TrekMovie story which confirmed Cumberbatch is Khan.

It's Khan, my fellow Trekkers.

Update: One thing I forgot to mention. There's a scene in the Japanese trailer where it looks like Spock is trying to touch another hand through glass. It's a clear reference to the scene in The Wrath of Khan where a dying Spock "touches" Kirk through the glass. Both are Spock's "Live long and prosper" hand signal. More evidence that this new Star Trek will feature Khan for better or worse.




1 comment:

Spockchick said...

Bernie! Khaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Really? I must say I am a wee bit devastated. I always assumed Khan to be a Sikh, and his pony-tail and jacket in TOS was really Indian looking.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly5v5sAwJQ1qeenqto1_500.jpg

BC would have to knock it out of the park before I could even begin to accept him as Khan. I have a bit of a pouty-face on at the mo. Not impressed with JJ at.all. It seems a bit lazy IMHO.