Seems like no one's really buying the notion that Cumberbatch is playing John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness. Maybe he'll be a reinterpretation of Harrison by Abrams and maybe he'll be 2013's Miranda Tate [Note: There was an original-series Star Trek crew member named Harrison who appeared in the debut of Khan. Coincidence?]. Below, you can read an interesting morsel from Cumberbatch's conversation about his role and watch the video in full as well.
On how director JJ Abrams pitched the role to Cumberbatch--
"JJ described the role in movie terms as a mixture of Hannibal Lector, Jack in the Shining and The Joker in Batman. There are sorts of levels to pitch in amongst quite a high bar as well to succeed in comparison to. It was a framework to understand this character before I saw the whole script."
What 'John Harrison' brings in terms of threat-level---
"He's someone who has extraordinary physical strength, he is someone who is incredibly dangerous as both a physical entity and as a user of various technologies and weapons. He performs acts of terrorism but he's also a psychological master. He manipulates the minds of those around him to do his bidding in a very, very subtle way. It was a wonderful game of mental chess...."
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In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.
With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Running Time: Unknown
Release Date: May 17 2013 (USA)
MPAA Rating: Unknown
Starring: Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Quinto John Cho, Peter Weller, Karl Urban and Chris Pine
Directed by: JJ Abrams
Written by: Alex Kurtzman (screenplay), Damon Lindelof (screenplay),Roberto Orci (screenplay), Gene Roddenberry (tv series "Star Trek")