Finally: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Gets A Synopsis, Villain Sort-Of Revealed

Fans know that news of anything with J.J. Abrams’ name attached to it leaks out at a snail’s pace. Though Star Trek Into Darkness is set for release next spring, all we’ve gotten so far are a few set photos, an official title, and a cheap 3-frame clip of Spock in a volcano suit.

Today we finally get the official synopsis for the rebooted Star Trek sequel, and the best part about the blurb is that it gives us a pretty significant hint about who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing (so far, he’s just listed as “the villain”).

Here’s the official synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness via MTV:

“When the crew of the enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

“With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

“As our heroes are propelled into an epic chase game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.”

“Personal score,” you say? “One man weapon of mass destruction,” is he? “Terror from within,” eh? Who could Benedict Cumberbatch be playing? A few blogs like Snafu-ed and Zap2It are placing smart money on Cumberbatch playing Gary Mitchell, a character from one episode of the original series “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

He was a friend of Captain Kirk’s at Starfleet Academy who developed powerful telekinetic and telepathic abilities, and thought of himself as a god. Mitchell became a villain, and Kirk was forced to kill him.

For a long time, fans speculated that Cumberbatch was playing a rebooted version of Khan Noonien Singh, established in the pop culture’s mind as Captain Kirk’s greatest nemesis. But remember, Khan was a one-week throwaway villain in the series before headlining the incredibly successful Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The success of that movie is why we all think that Khan is the ying to Kirk’s yang.

If Cumberbatch is indeed playing Mitchell, it fits with Abrams’ whole “reference the original series like crazy” mentality, and even follows the formula of the original Star Trek film series by elevating a relatively obscure TV villain to major nemesis.

Another big clue: During a promotional interview for Dredd, Karl Urban said co-star Cumberbatch is “awesome, he’s a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary.” Producer Roberto Orci corrected Urban and denied the slip, but then again, Marion Cotillard denied she was playing Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises and look what happened.

Are you excited for Star Trek Into Darkness?