The first trailer for Jj Abrams' Star Trek sequel Into Darkness has emerged online today (December 5, 2012), with trekkies already drooling all over their keyboards at the menacing voiceover provided by Benedict Cumberbatch. It's been long rumored that the British star plays the iconic villain Khan, though does the trailer lend credence to the speculation?

In a tone not a million miles away from Tom Hardy's Bane in The Dark Knight Rises trailer, Cumberbatch's character forebodingly asserts, "You think your world is safe, it is an illusion, a comforting lie told to protect you, enjoy these final moments of peace, for I have returned, to have my vengeance.so, shall we begin?" The reference to a 'return' has left Star Trek fans in no doubt that Cumberbatch plays Khan Noonien Singh, a villain genetically engineered to be the perfect human. He is equipped with super strength, superior intellect and is a master strategist. In the trailer, Cumberbatch sits on the captain's chair and basically causes mayhem. The character was portrayed by Ricardo Montalban in both the television episodes and the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Though fans appear set on Cumberbatch as Khan, his co-star Simon Pegg categorically denied that was the case during an interview with The Telegraph earlier this year. "It's not Khan. That's a myth. Everyone's saying it is, but it's not. I think people just want to have a scoop. It annoys me - it's beyond the point to just ferret around for spoilers all the time to try to be the first to break them," he said. Cumberbatch himself told Shortlist magazine, "Yep, it's yet another thing I can't talk about [laughs]. I'll tell you this, it's iconic and it's exciting. I'm bored of denying that it's Khan now, because people keep saying it."

Anyway, the trailer is full of things blowing up, people screaming and buildings collapsing. It all looks pretty good. Star Trek Into Darkness hits cinemas on May 17, 2012.