14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since J.J. Abrams started working on the “Star Trek” sequel and Benedict Cumberbatch was attached to the villain part, speculation has been rife on who he could possibly play. Cumberbatch’s own description of the baddie is very promising.
Earlier, the movie studio announced that the villain would be a certain John Harrison, a name that means nothing to fans of the franchise and, more importantly, that has nothing to do with Khan, whom he’s believed to be playing.
Speaking with ET just recently, Cumberbatch offered a bit more details about Harrison, perhaps thinking that this would make Trekkies stop speculating on Khan.
“[John Harrison is] someone who’s a fearsome warrior and he’s an expert in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry, as well as being a psychological terrorist — he’s a great manipulator of minds to perform his intentions and do his bidding,” the actor says.
“But he has a cause; however violent and destructive the effects of his actions are, the reasons and intentions behind them are pretty noble, so hopefully at some stage in the story you’ll have a sympathy for him, which should be unexpected but should be genuine. He’s fighting for something he believes in, as strong as those who are defending Starfleet and the Enterprise itself,” Cumberbatch adds.
Sounds pretty awesome, right?
But then, there’s this: in the video below, Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine talk about “Star Trek Into Darkness,” comparing villains.
Check out what happens at the 1-minute mark: what are the odds that it was only a slip of the tongue seeing how “Nero” and “Khan” sound nothing alike?