'The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront 'This is who it is,' ' the director says of their decision to hide the real identity of Benedict Cumberbatch's character.
- Dec 3, 2013
AceShowbiz - J.J. Abrams has one regret about "Star Trek Into Darkness". Speaking to MTV News, the prolific filmmaker admits keeping the true identity of Benedict Cumberbatch's character in the summer blockbuster was a mistake.
"The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront 'This is who it is,' " he says. "It was only trying to preserve the fun of it, and it might have given more time to acclimate and accept that's what the thing was."
Months before the movie release, there had been speculations that Cumberbatch's John Harrison was the alter ego of Khan. Abrams and his camp, however, persistently denied the story. When it was eventually confirmed in the movie, the revelation didn't have any major impact on the story.
Now Abrams opens up that it was the studio who thought it would be better to hid the villain's real identity. "The truth is because it was so important to the studio that we not angle this thing for existing fans. If we said it was Khan, it would feel like you've really got to know what 'Star Trek' is about to see this movie," he shares.
"That would have been limiting. I can understand their argument to try to keep that quiet, but I do wonder if it would have seemed a little bit less like an attempt at deception if we had just come out with it."
During the interview, Abrams who will direct "Star Wars Episode 7" also talks about who should replace him as a director for the third "Star Trek" movie. While he's rooting for Joe Cornish, he says, "I don't know if Joe Cornish is the guy. My guess is that's up in the air."
He adds, "I adore him and love him and can't wait to see what he does next. Hopefully it will be 'Star Trek'. Whatever it is, he's brilliant. 'Attack the Block' was one of my favorite movies of the year when it came out."
