I cannot stop making fun of the Star Trek 2 title, Star Trek Into Darkness. It sounds like an Annie Lennox song. “When the world ends/And hope is lost/We will rise again/Star Trek Into Darkness/Yeah/Star Trek Into Darkness”. In my head, it’s set to an 80s synth beat, at least as good as the Skyfall theme.
Benedict Cumberbatch was out in support of the film in Tokyo earlier today, along with director JJ Abrams and co-star Chris Pine. The first nine minutes of Stark Trek 2 will be screened in front of all IMAX 3D showings of The Hobbit for those of you who cannot wait to get a look at Chris Pine’s creepy tape-lips barking orders at Zachary Quinto et al. I enjoyed Abrams’ first Star Trek movie in 2009, but the sequel is not revving my nerd engine. I’ve just never been a huge Star Trek fan. By far my biggest point of interest in the sequel is the presence of Cumberbatch, appearing in his first major American movie since breaking out with Sherlock.
Cagey as always, Abrams has kept a tight lid on the flow of information regarding ST2, dribbling out bits and pieces, including the synopsis which hardly elucidates anything beyond “inside threat” and some indication that the villain has mega-destructive capabilities. Though it’s not officially official, it’s pretty clear Cumberbatch is playing the villain with the nuclear-warhead hands. There’s also a poster which is largely just the famous Star Fleet logo picked out in destruction, a bit of imagery pioneered by Chris Nolan for his Batman posters. Until those nine minutes screen, we’re not going to know much about this movie. Such is the way of The Abrams.
As for Cumberbatch, he remains incredibly busy, wrapping August: Osage County and Twelve Years a Slave, and joining Terry Jones’ Absolutely Anything (which reunites the surviving members of Monty Python so HELL YES), as well as developing a Julian Assange biopic with Bill Condon. This, plus Martin Freeman’s heavy Hobbit duties and ongoing filming for Edgar Wright’s The World’s End, are why production of Sherlock series 3 has been pushed back till March, meaning we might not see the Cliffhanger From Hell resolved until 2014. (ARGH.) On the Marvel front, things have gone suspiciously silent. Marvel is kind of a gossipy place, but when they lock down on something, they LOCK DOWN. In the wake of the leak about Dr. Strange—the character I hope Cumberbatch will play—appearing in Thor 2 over the summer, everyone clammed up. Here’s hoping my Dr. Strange dreams haven’t been dashed.
