Star Trek fanatics … meet John Harrison.
Who, you might ask? Well, I’m not sure, either, but I’m not much of a Trek trivia enthusiast. Yet that’s how Benedict Cumberbatch’s mysterious villain is identified in a brand-new photo released by the studio as we prepare for the nine-minute IMAX footage that will be attached to The Hobbit this weekend, starting on Dec. 14. Here’s the pic:
The official photo caption reads as such:
(From l.) Zachary Quinto as Spock, Benedict Cumberbatch as 'John Harrison' and Chris Pine as Kirk in 'Star Trek Into Darkness.'
But John Harrison is not a well-known character from the Star Trek universe (that I know of), and it means that Cumberbatch is not playing Khan or Gary Mitchell, as has been speculated on various movie-tracking sites.
Is this another bait-and-switch to point fans in a different direction as J.J. Abrams and his team continue to tease the sequel? It’s possible. I’m more disappointed – marginally – by the site of Cumberbatch in a prison, a scenario mirrored in Skyfall and The Avengers for villains like Silva and Loki. Do we have to go down this route once again in a major motion picture?
Star Trek Into Darkness opens on May 17, 2013. We’ll hear a lot more about it as we get closer to Friday, when the IMAX preview will be in theaters. For now, what do you think of the photo?
Follow along on Twitter @Sean_OConnell and @Fandango.
