Karl Urban: Cumberbatch is Gary Mitchell

[Gandalf]

Following months of feverish speculation about the identity of the villain in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, most of it centering on one Khan Noonien Singh, star Karl Urban may have finally let slip who Benedict Cumberbatch plays in the film.

During a promotional junket for Dredd, Urban praised the Sherlock star, telling SFX, ““He’s awesome, he’s a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary.”

Assuming Urban isn’t practicing a bit of misdirection, it certainly explains why Benedict was shown wearing a Starfleet uniform in photos that leaked in February from the film’s set: In the original series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (the second Star Trek pilot), Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell is a Starfleet Academy friend of Kirk’s who serves as helmsman about the Enterprise when the ship penetrates the galactic barrier. The cosmic energies leave Mitchell with psionic abilities, which begin to destroy his humanity, transforming him into a deranged, and deadly, god-like being.

But then again, Urban, at the behest of Abrams & Co., may simply be toying with legions of fans who have been trying to ferret out Cumberbatch’s role at every opportunity (leading Simon Pegg to express his exasperation).

The film, which opens May 17, 2013, stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve and Peter Weller.

Interesting if true.

[Stofsk]

If true, it would be a million times better than the earlier speculation of him being Khan.

[Gandalf]

Exactly.

Khan been done, and resurrecting a big screen villain would have been retarded.

[Srelex]

Apparently Mitchell already appeared and died in the sequel comics set after the 2009 film--though this does indeed fit much better than Khan.

[Crazedwraith]

Yeah I totally bet the scriptwriters hands are tied by that comic.

[The Romulan Republic]

Aren't Star Trek comics considered non-canon?

[Batman]

What is considered canon for reboot Trek anyway?

[Gandalf]

Aren't Star Trek comics considered non-canon?

Yeah, Lindelof said in an interview that they're not canon.

[Havok]

Nothing.

[Batman]

So, essentially, anything spinning off the reboot movie-gets to blithely ignore the reboot movie?

[Gandalf]

Presumably the reboot canon is the film and the novelisation.

Original canon remains the same.

[Batman]

I was commenting on Havok saying that WRT reboot Trek, nothing is canon, which would rather include the movie (and make for a very interesting canon policy)

[Skywalker_T-65]

...You know if this is true, I SO called it. Or at least my friends did anyway

Remember this thread? Neo-Star Trek Set Pictures

Obivously I edited the name of said thread, but the point is, my friends got the idea that it would be Gary Mitchell from those set pictures, and I relayed the guess here. Everyone thought it couldn't happen...but looks like it did.

[Skgoa]

I was commenting on Havok saying that WRT reboot Trek, nothing is canon, which would rather include the movie (and make for a very interesting canon policy)

TBH I woul very much like to see such a policy. "Let's do the story with a setting and characters we are familiar with but not necessaryly with preexisting boundaries that would get in the way of storytelling."

[JME2]

If it really is Mitchell, then it's an interesting choice and I'd be curious to see how they pull it off.

[FedRebel]

What is considered canon for reboot Trek anyway?

Enterprise

[FaxModem1]

I was commenting on Havok saying that WRT reboot Trek, nothing is canon, which would rather include the movie (and make for a very interesting canon policy)

TBH I woul very much like to see such a policy. "Let's do the story with a setting and characters we are familiar with but not necessaryly with preexisting boundaries that would get in the way of storytelling."

To what extent? Would the Enterprise get to make a stop at Vulcan before they depart on their mission, with Spock getting a kiss from his mother, wishing him well?

[Skgoa]

If it's necessary for the story to work, yes. Though to be honest I was thinking more about movie franchises like Terminator or Matrix. You wouldn't have to deal with detaiös that had ben established before and you wouldn't have to retcon stuff or devalue the ending of the previuous movie, you could simply tell more stories in that world.
Fake edit: MiB is a prime example. The second movie hat to shit all over the first movie's emotional pay-off in order to get Agent K back into the story. The third movie then had to bent itself into funny shapes to get him back AGAIN.

[Batman]

That's not nothing being canon, that's merely former canon no longer being, and given this is a reboot to be expected. Again, what Havok said was WRT nuTrek nothing is canon. Not 'nothing that happened in oldTrek', 'nothing'. No qualifiers whatsoever. Which means that for the nuTrek universe, even the movie that spawned it isn't.

[Havok]

Batman, shut the fuck up. If you are too stupid to realize, like the rest of the planet, that I wasn't including the fucking new movie itself, and have to keep arguing about it incessantly like a fucking child so that you can win an argument, then you are a much bigger idiot than I ever gave you credit for.

[Batman]

And people say I'm the one with no sense of humour

[Bob the Gunslinger]

Were you trying to be funny, then?

[Stark]

Dunno, is his sad 'I'M BATMAN' thing counted as humour?

I mean, I bet HE thinks its fucking hysterical.

[Tsyroc]

Dunno, is his sad 'I'M BATMAN' thing counted as humour?

I mean, I bet HE thinks its fucking hysterical.

There's something to be said about how long he's stuck with it.

I'm certainly impressed that he's still doing it after all these years.

[Darksider]

Impressed isn't really the word i'd use.