For months now, rumors have percolated about exactly which Star Trek villain Benedict Cumberbatch will be bringing to live in the second J.J. Abrams-directed Trek movie. And now, it seems as though Karl Urban, who plays Dr. McCoy, has casually let the answer slip in the middle of a Dredd junket. But is Urban telling the truth?


According to SFX, Urban was asked about the Sherlock star, and he told reporters: "He's awesome, he's a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary."

Gary Mitchell, for those who missed it, was the quasi-villain of the first episode of Star Trek that William Shatner filmed (although not the first aired episode.) Mitchell, an old friend of Kirk's from the Academy, gets hit with strange energy when the Enterprise passes through the barrier at the edge of the galaxy, and develops godlike powers... which in turn make him into a psychopath. The emphasis on someone who is becoming something not quite human is very Trek, and also might provide a good counterweight to the story of Kirk learning to be a real captain.


There are just a few reasons to be leery of this story, however: 1) This would mean Old Spock really hasn't given the crew any advice about avoiding the most obvious mistakes his Enterprise made. 2) Roberto Orci already said Cumberbatch is not playing Mitchell. 3) The officially sanctioned tie-in comic already told a Gary Mitchell story, which this would presumably contradict.

In any case, maybe we'll find out more soon.

Top image: Metro Sweden

[SFX, thanks Dirk!]