'Star Trek' Bits: Simon Pegg Comments On JJ Abrams Return For 'Trek 3,' Alice Eve Promises Benedict Cumberbatch Is Not Khan

The promotion for J.J. Abrams' new film Star Trek Into Darkness is really starting to ramp up, but there are still a few big questions that remain unanswered about the film. One is the precise nature of John Harrison, the villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Is Harrison really Khan, or is he some new character? (Or a revised version of an old character?) The interior of the magazine called the Khan reports only a rumor, and captions within also used the Harrison name.

The other question — one that even in a normal film cycle wouldn't be answered until after Trek 2 opens — is whether Abrams will return to make a third new Trek film. Given his new duties with Star Wars, how can he possibly have time to close out a Trek trilogy?

On the red carpet at this weekend's BAFTA ceremony, Trek actors Alice Eve and Simon Pegg were asked about their upcoming film, and each offered an answer, of sorts, to these two questions. Whether either one can be taken as definitive, or even relatively accurate, is open to question, however.

First up is Pegg's statement, which comes via AICN. Asked about Abrams return to Trek, Pegg says he believes that his director will return to make a third Trek.

Don't let that last comment stand as the definitive answer, however. (And how could it? Pegg isn't responsible for hiring the director.) The actor added this after people started to pick up on that video comment:

And then there's this statement from Alice Eve, who plays a character that appears to be a young version of Dr. Carol Marcus — a character most famous for appearing in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Last week EW publicized its new Star Trek cover story with, among other things, a web page featuring one of the covers and the caption "Kirk and Khan." Was that confirmation that Khan appears in the film, or simple search engine baiting? Smart money rests on the latter option.

And now Alice Eve is here to say that Benedict Cumberbatch is definitely not playing Khan.

Again, take that with a certain degree of caution. As Pegg says above, they're very interested in protecting the secrecy of the film.

Finally, here are two new images from the movie, via the official app: