Benicio Del Toro not playing Khan in Star Trek sequel, or so says J.J. Abrams

So who to believe? Yesterday, Latino Review had a story that pretty much confirmed that Benicio Del Toro, who has been rumored to be playing a villain in the upcoming Star Trek sequel, would in fact be playing Khan. As in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. Ricardo Montalban Khan. It's been assumed by way too many people that the "legendary" Trek villain would be showing up in the film, although nobody has confirmed anything of the sort. For his part, JJ Abrams has stayed mostly out of the fray, until HitFix got a hold of him for an official response to the Khan story, which turned out to be a flat "Not true".


So is Latino Review wrong in their sources? Honestly, I've found them to be mostly solid on their info, but not exactly 100%.  Nobody is. And I don't know Abrams well enough to know if he'd lie. What I can do is look back at his history and know he's pretty good at keeping things secret, but he's usually more slick about it. This "Not True" sounds kinda blunt.

Plus, doesn't Khan sound like one boring ass choice for a heel? Trekkies may dig Khan, but from what I could tell from the last Star Trek flick, Abrams is looking to appeal to everybody. Khan comes with so much baggage, even in a new alternative universe, that he'd turn a lot of people off or they wouldn't get why he's such a big deal.

Don't expect answers to come easy. We've got a long way to go until we see the film anyway, as it won't open until May 2013. The previous cast is expected to return in it's entirety, plus Alice Eve coming aboard as an all new character.