Last month, everyone seemed so sure that the mysterious villain of J J Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek 2 was going to be the classic Trek villain, genetically enhanced war criminal Khan with Benedict Cumberbatch stepping in for Ricardo Montalban who originally played the part in an episode of the original series and the feature Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.
But in an interview with The Telegraph, Trek reboot cast member Simon Pegg blasted those reports not only for what he says is inaccurate reporting but for the need for sensationalism that has driven the reporting.
It’s not Khan. That’s a myth. Everyone’s saying it is, but it’s not… I think people just want to have a scoop. It annoys me – it’s beyond the point to just ferret around for spoilers all the time to try to be the first to break them. It just spoils the film. It masquerades as interest in the movie but really it’s just nosiness and impatience. You just want to say, “Oh f— off! Wait for the film!”
While I am sure that some folks will write this off as just some spin from the production to keep the film’s plotlines secret, I would suggest that in this case, if it were indeed true, it would be a case of closing the barn door after the horses had already gotten out. I think we need to take Pegg at his word that Cumberbatch is not playing the part that everyone seems to want to believe that he is.
And I am fine with that. We’ve talked about why having Khan in Star Trek 2 would be a big, stupid mistake, and I am glad to see that Abrams isn’t making it.
