Call me crazy, but I don't quite buy into this whole "John Harrison" thing. It's possible that's actually the name of Benedict Cumberbatch's villain in Star Trek Into Darkness, but part of me thinks it sounds just a little too plain. It could be a cover, a clever way of disguising who he really is. Like maybe Khan? Would anyone be surprised if J.J. Abrams pulled a swerve on all of us?
Along with a number of new images from the film courtesy of the latest issue of Empire Magazine, also comes a few words from Abrams and Cumberbatch about the Harrison's plot and motivations, along with the overall tone of the film.
First up, Abrams talks about what makes Harrison such a compelling bad guy....
Abrams: "So this movie doesn't require you have seen the first movie. The characters are a group of people who have recently come together and find themselves up against this incredibly terrifying force. His name is John Harrison and he is sort of an average –- that is what makes him so scary –- he is just an average guy who works in an organization called Starfleet, and he turns against the group because he has got this back-story and this kind of amazing secret agenda. After two very violent attacks, one in London and one in the U.S., our characters have to go after this guy and apprehend him. And it is a far more complicated and difficult thing then they ever anticipated. "Into Darkness" is very much about how intense it gets and really what they are up against."
Abrams also says just because the movie is called Star Trek Into Darkness, doesn't mean it's going to be totally bleak. So there probably won't be any The Empire Strikes Back comparisons...
Abrams: "I don't like going to the movies to feel bad. I don't like going to the movies to feel depressed and feel diminished. The reason you go to the movies is to feel bigger and stronger and happier. So this is a movie that they certainly go ‘Into Darkness,' but I would be the wrong director if it was about characters staying there. This is very much a movie about hope, about love, about romance, and about facing something that is truly terrifying and finding a way through the connection of your family and surviving and being stronger afterwards."
Cumberbatch then digs into who his inspirations were in drawing the Harrison character in his mind, and he pulls from all of the figures you might expect....
Cumberbatch: "When J.J. described the role to me… he described someone who was, in movie terms, a mixture of Hannibal Lecter, Jack in 'The Shining,' and the Joker in 'Batman'... He's someone who has enormous physical strength. He's someone who is incredibly dangerous, both as a physical entity and through the use of various technologies and weapons and who performs acts of what I would describe as terrorism. He's also a psychological master. He manipulates the minds of those around him to do his bidding in a very, very subtle way."
Finally, we have a more thorough plot description, and it looks like Kirk breaks a few rules in his attempt to stop Harrison once and for all...
“With Earth under terrorist attack from Benedict Cumberbatch’s ex-Starfleet employee John Harrison, Kirk is this time forced into a rash decision that breaks a critical Starfleet command, puts his crew in danger & costs him his captain’s chair. Now out of uniform and dressed down in space civvies of black leather jackets and boots, our three heroes have separated from the Enterprise and headed off on a mission to try and rectify his mistake…”
It's still Khan. I'm calling it now. Star Trek Into Darkness opens on May 17th 2013. Check out the rest of the images below. [Trek Movie/BleedingCool]
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