At a promotional junket for Dredd, Karl Urban looks to have let slip to SFX who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing in the forthcoming Star Trek sequel. When asked what it was like having the Sherlock actor on set, Urban said:
“He’s awesome, he’s a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary.”
Coming towards the end of a lengthy interview primarily concerned with his role in Dredd, it appears that Urban has accidentally revealed a much sought-after piece of information. Speculation about the principal villain has generally had Khan in the frame to take on the crew of the Enterprise second time round, but Urban seems to have unintentionally confirmed otherwise.
It’s exciting news – if it’s true. For the uninitiated, Gary Mitchell first appeared in original series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before” as an old academy acquaintance of Kirk who ends up transformed into a wrathful God-like antagonist after encountering the galactic barrier.
Of course, there’s always the chance that this is an enormous red herring planted by the wily Urban on an unsuspecting SF journo. Gary Mitchell has already appeared in this iteration of the Trek universe courtesy of issue #2 of IDW’s Star Trek comic, and perhaps more importantly has been explicitly denied any part in Trek 2 by co-writer and producer Roberto Orci in a recent interview.
Then again, this wouldn’t be the first time Orci has been involved in Hollywood sleight of hand. He also worked on Tranformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, where Michael Bay denied Megatron would be appearing only for – surprise! – Megatron to play a key role in the film. Regardless, it’s an intriguing development for Trek fans, and one that is no doubt going be the cause of some furious debate.
Urban can be seen taking up the badge of 2000AD’s dreaded future lawman in the forthcoming Dredd, which is released via Lionsgate on 7 September.
Star Trek 2 is due for release 17 May 2013.
Source
Initial speculation was correct after all. Thank goodness.
Source
Initial speculation was correct after all. Thank goodness.