UPDATED: The Star Trek Into Darkness Teaser is Here


Managing Editor
12/06/12 10:40am
4 Comments

Our first official (teaser) trailer is here for Star Trek Into Darkness. And it’s gloriously sinister.

I seriously cannot wait for the cunning wraith Cumberbatch will bring to his as-yet-unnamed villainous role. We also get to see a lot more old school action that the original series was known for. Sure, we got a bit of fisticuffs in the first film (especially from John Cho’s Sulu) but this looks a little more action packed than the first foray into the reboot.

And now if we could get slightly nerdy on you all: there are two strong possibilities for Cumberbatch’s villain. One is that he is Khan Noonien Singh – a well known, well liked, easily rebootable foil for Kirk. He has super human strength, a thirst for vengeance, and a penchant for Starshipnapping. My immediate reaction of “holy cow he is playing Khan” clouded my eyes for my first 4 run-throughs of the teaser. But then, there was the multiple appearances of the blonde science/medical officer played by Alice Eve (whose character is also a secret.) While I first assumed she was playing Nurse Christine Chapel, what is more likely is that she is playing Dr Elizabeth Dehner. And if she is? Then Cumberbatch is most definitely playing Gary Mitchell, as those two characters come packaged together from the Original Series. What Mitchell, a Starfleet officer who ends up with godlike ESPer powers, is doing with a gun is beyond me and the only detail giving me any doubts at the moment.

UPDATE: Embedded below is the Japanese teaser (subtitled) which is almost exactly the same as the one above. EXCEPT! For an additional 10 seconds at the very end that is sure to cause a massive fan freakout. (Freakout confirmed: I’m experiencing it.)

So watch, indulge, and let us know what you think in the comments!

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  • http://twitter.com/Leah617 Leah Cornish

    Set phasers to HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME

  • cbm

    I see what you mean about the last 10 seconds. The way it mirrors what happened in Wrath of Kahn makes me think the villain is Kahn. It is possible that Alice Eve is playing Historian Lt. McGivers from the original series episode Space Seed. No matter who the villain is, It should be good! That was an excellent trailer.

  • critterfur

    Holy Alternate History, Batman! I’ve always been a very casual Trek watcher, so I really have no problem with what seems to be some very drastic changes to Star Trek continuity in this upcoming movie; then again, you can’t get much more drastic than killing Spock’s mom and destroying Vulcan. I know the Trek purists out there are probably gnashing their teeth at all of this (Abrams, an admitted Star Wars fan, bringing his own sensibilities to a franchise he doesn’t hold in awe, and that’s a good thing). It does seem from this teaser that all bets are off; Abrams is basically showing the near destruction of Starfleet back during the time when Kirk was just getting started, and that’s a pretty big change, which might lead to a much darker vision of the entire Star Trek universe in the ensuing films, darker than any other iteration of the show or films has gone.

    My first guess when watching all of this was that Cumberbatch has to be playing Gary Mitchell, because Alice Eve certainly does look a lot like Elizabeth Dehner, from the hairstyle to the uniform, etc. Mitchell has more of a personal connection to Kirk (they were good buddies), we’ve already seen Khan in the “original” films and there’s probably no real need to rehash all of that delicious vengeance. By expanding upon the old Gary Mitchell storyline from television, we could have a full-blown god-like villain menacing Kirk, with psychic and telekinetic powers, the ability to hit Starfleet where it hurts (because he’s one of them), and the knowledge of what makes Kirk tick. In the same way that Wrath of Khan took one of the classic episodes and put it through the grandiose, epic treatment, this film could do the same thing for the old episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Imagine that storyline didn’t end with Kirk entombing Mitchell, and Mitchell progressed even further with his powers and returned to Earth, and imagine how much they could do with Mitchell’s powers with 2013 movie-making technology. Plus, Karl Urban seemed to let the whole Mitchell thing slip during an interview a few months ago (unless that was him laying some false bread crumbs).

    As to the hands-on-glass thing at the end; I’m pretty sure they’re not mirroring the famous moment from the end of Wrath of Khan. In all likelihood it’s Kirk reaching out to Mitchell (or even Dehner) after trapping them or something. They could go the unexpected route and kill off Spock (again), but these younger versions of the characters don’t carry the same emotional weight that they do in Wrath of Khan, and again, why rehash an already great film? Or Abrams could kill off another classic crew member; after all, in this new reality, anything goes.

    • http://twitter.com/Leah617 Leah Cornish

      I agree that I don’t think the hands on glass is going to be a recreation of the end of Khan. But it is certainly a lovely homage to it. I’m pretty sure the blue uniform in the shot is Spock because of the Vulcan salute being made.