The Debate Over The Main Villain In 'Star Trek 2' Rages On

The on-again, off-again debate about the main villain in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 2 seems to be back on and maybe at an end. At first we heard Benicio Del Toro was cast, then he dropped out. Then we heard he was set to play Khan, but Abrams said that wasn't true. Benedict Cumberbatch was then cast in the role and set photos of him in mortal combat with Spock raised speculation as to whom he might be playing.

Now TrekMovie, one of the preeminent Star Trek sites on the web, is saying they've confirmed through multiple sources the true identity of the villain and no longer consider it a rumor. The not-so-surprising spoiler is after the jump.

Here's the quote from TrekMovie.com which, of course, should be considered a spoiler:

TrekMovie has confirmed this with a number of sources so we no longer consider it to be a rumor. Khan is back in 2013, however sources indicate that the film is not a rehash of "Space Seed," the original Star Trek episode where Kirk and crew first encounter the genetic superman from the past.

Latino Review was the first place to report that Khan was the villain when Del Toro was still in the mix and this second (or is it third? fourth? I lost count) confirmation seems to cement it.

So if it's true and Cumberbatch really is Khan, what do you think of the casting? It's obviously different from the man who originated the role both on TV and in the movies, Ricardo Montalban, but they call it acting for a reason. Just because Cumberbatch doesn't share Khan's heritage, that doesn't mean he can't act like he does.

Trek Movie also reports that Star Trek 2 will feature Klingons. How they fit into a story with Khan as the main villain is yet to be revealed but you can be sure once we see a first trailer, possibly at San Diego Comic-Con in July, everything will become more clear.

Are you surprised at the Khan reveal?