Benicio Del Toro is out, but reports still have Khan in 'Star Trek 2'
How many 'Star Trek' stories can we run in a row?
If he did end up playing Khan, I would hope Benicio would wear that hat.
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Ahhh, the fine art of rumormongering.
Over the weekend, we got involved in a bit of a friendly back and forth with Latino Review over "Star Trek 2," or whatever the film's finally going to be called. They published the news that Benicio Del Toro was playing Khan Noonien Singh in the new sequel that is set to start shooting just after the start of the year, and we contacted JJ Abrams directly to ask him to comment. "Not true," he said.
Now it seems that Del Toro dropped out of negotiations to star in the film last Wednesday, and according to Vulture, Abrams is now looking to cast someone else as Khan. They claim they have a very highly-placed source and that, like Latino Review, they're hearing Khan is indeed the bad guy.
At this point, I'm just curious to see how this one's going to come together. Maybe if they're using Khan after all, Abrams can reach out to "Lost" alumni Naveen Andrews and actually cast an Indian actor in this Indian role instead of playing so closely to the idea of Ricardo Montalban. I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around what story they'd be telling if this is a Khan film, since at this point in the timeline, Kirk hasn't even met Carol Marcus, and he certainly hasn't had a son, and you can't just jump over all of that and crank up a conflict that has no set-up. If they do any Khan related storyline, it would have to be a riff off of "Space Seed," not the feature film "Wrath Of Khan."
As we reported earlier today, it appears that Peter Weller is also joining the cast, and I would expect they'll have to move quickly to find someone to step into whatever role Del Toro was set to play.
"Star Trek 2" beams into theaters in IMAX and 3D on May 17, 2013.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMulderism
December 5, 2011 at 9:40PM EST Reply to CommentI hope the rumours of Khan turn out to be true. It will probably ensure the end of the franchise and its return to TV.
Michael Not necessarily. Why all the hate? Wait and see what they do with the material before you pass judgement.
December 5, 2011 at 10:28PM ESTMulderism Well since you asked - the last movie left me cold. I'm one of the few who disliked it. And rumours like this - rehashing old villains - doesn't give me a lot of hope for the future. I thought the whole point of the reboot and new timeline was that they could write new movies without worrying about canon.
December 5, 2011 at 10:49PM ESTI would have liked to seen another TNG movie or a new franchise set further into the future.
mark Thankfully the studio put the franchise into the hands of someone with a true vision instead of pandering to what a small minority of fandom wanted. The result was a fresh exciting take on Star Trek that saved the franchise and pleased most everyone. You guys that weren't pleased can be content with your TNG reruns.
December 11, 2011 at 12:00PM ESTJamiahsh
December 5, 2011 at 11:48PM EST Reply to CommentDel Toro probably found out that he was going to be playing a character that has already been done brilliantly before and dropped out. I'm getting really annoyed with the lack of imagination in movies today. I thought the idea was to "Boldly go where no man has gone before." I hope I'm incorrect. Honestly, I did not mind the alternate time line started in the last film, but if we ate going to tell classic Trek tales in a new way, the franchise will get old really quick.
Jamiahsh
December 5, 2011 at 11:51PM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...I would have rather seen another TNG movie as well. If not only to redeem itself after Nemesis.
kadoogan
December 6, 2011 at 1:43AM EST Reply to CommentPeter Weller as the father of Khan's second-in-command (the actors look similar, do they not?).
That Werewolf Guy
December 6, 2011 at 3:48AM EST Reply to CommentI heard Udo Kier is going to play Goldfinger in SKYFALL!
Dryden
December 6, 2011 at 10:05AM EST Reply to CommentI've already seen a great film version of Khan. I wish they'd write something new.
ghostwriter
December 11, 2011 at 2:00AM EST Reply to CommentI'm a lifelong fan of Star Trek. I have enjoyed every iteration to varying degrees, with TOS and TNG being my favorites. Having said that, I think the well was running pretty dry. Abrams' reboot breathed new life into the franchise. It has a different feel than other versions, but then again, TNG was quite different from TOS, and that was fine with me. Whatever these guys come up with will, I have no doubt, be wildly entertaining. Don't overthink it, people, it ain't rocket science. OK, maybe that was a poor choice of words, but you get the point.