A little while back, it was reported that Benicio Del Toro was J.J. Abrams’ number one choice to play the villain in the upcoming Star Trek sequel. In typical Abrams fashion, the character he had in mind for Del Toro was kept under wraps, leading to rampant speculation across all reaches of the internet. It seemed as though Latino Review had the answer: according to El Mayimbe‘s sources, Del Toro would be playing the role of Khan Noonien Singh, otherwise known as Khan, otherwise known as the villain of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Twitter lit up almost immediately after the news, with the general consensus being negative — but facts were facts: Del Toro would be Khan.
And then things got interesting. Drew McWeeny of HitFix contacted Abrams himself about the Latino Review story, and the director simply said “not true,” and that the actor will not be walking in the boots (and carrying the awesome hair) of Ricardo Montalban. Is Abrams telling the truth, or is he just trying to add intrigue to his upcoming sequel? From what I’ve read, El Mayimbe is rock solid when it comes to his sources, and the news he breaks is more often than not true, yet Abrams shooting down the rumor himself seems to be as definitive as one could get. (And the filmmaker is, while often dodgy, known for being sincere when actually answering a question.) Personally I hope it’s the latter; the new Star Trek franchise should establish its own storylines and villains, not just “modernize” the old tales people already know and love (or tolerate, if you aren’t a big Trekkie).
Either way, Star Trek 2 starts production next year for a May 17th, 2013 release, so we’ll probably find out the truth soon enough. If the truth wasn’t already just revealed, that is.
So what do you think? Is Abrams telling the truth or is he just playing coy? Should Khan be a villain in this new Star Trek universe?