Director J.J. Abrams, Chris Pine (Jim Kirk) and Benedict Cumberbatch (??) attended a press conference in Tokyo Japan, where the 9 minute preview of Star Trek Into Darkness was screened for those in attendance, along with a Q & A afterwards. The Japanese press seem to be strictly adhering to the embargo placed on descriptions of said footage, but we do have some quotes from Benedict Cumberbatch, who talks a little about his (still unidentified) character. It seems that although Cumberbatch will be the main antagonist of the story, he will have a few shades of grey to him at the same time..
(Translated from Japanese)
"I was a fan of the [2009 Star Trek], so I was pleased when I got the offer. But I know the second one will become far-bigger scale, so I felt terror instantly. He is very ruthless…He is not a clearly good or evil character. He is a villain but the actions he takes has intent and reason. He is a complicated character not to be judged by white-or-black, or good-or-evil. But this is the appeal of J.J.’s works and I felt challenge as an actor."
Hmmm. I'm sure we'll get a few "Ok, that's definitely Gary Mitchel!" comments, and I would agree it certainly sounds like that character. Guess we'll find out soon enough. J.J. Abrams also commented on the somewhat bizarre title of the movie.
"I would avoid saying ‘Part 2′ and hate titles with colons," explained the director.
"This time, each characters steps deeper into darkness. It reflects that. No matter how great the visual effects, it means nothing if characters don’t have appeal. Particularly, this movie has themes that Kirk and his crew are ‘tried’ in the face of an unexpected and horrible event.". Sounds good to me, even with the slightly dodgy translation!
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.