First Impressions: "Star Trek Into Darkness" Teaser Trailer

Daniel Kendi ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff

"Star Trek Into Darkness." Photo via g4tv.com.
“Star Trek Into Darkness.” Photo via g4tv.com
The Star Trek Into Darkness teaser trailer has arrived and it is a fantastic first look at the film. The trailer is filled with action, new locations, and a small glimpse of what the story will be about. The biggest question audiences are still left with after watching this trailer is who Benedict Cumberbatch’s character in the film is. There has been much speculation as to who this character is and whether or not he has been seen in previous Star Trek films. The two main theories have been that this character is either Khan Noonien Singh from The Original Series episode, “Space Seed,” and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan or Gary Mitchell from The Original Series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”
The trailer opens on Earth with some sort of Starfleet event taking place. A man is addressing Starfleet and it looks like this could be James T. Kirk (Chris Pine). A voice over by Cumberbatch foreshadows a coming evil with the words “you think your world is safe?” A new planet is then shown with a red forest like surface. Captain Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) are seen running through this forest and then jumping off of a cliff. This sequence and the later shots of Spock (Zachary Quinto) in a volcano like structure are believed to be from the opening of the film. This opening is speculated to be the seven minutes of IMAX footage that will be shown before The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in select IMAX theaters this week. The next part of the trailer shows Kirk and a character played by Alice Eve smiling at each other. It is not known who Eve will play yet but it is rumored that she will be Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, also from The Original Series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Eve’s character looks very much like Dehner and makes a strong case for the film having a “Where No Man Has Gone Before” storyline.
The trailer continues to show shots of Cumberbatch’s character attacking the crew of the Enterprise in an unknown location. A voice over by Cumberbatch states, “Enjoy these final moments of peace. For I have returned to have my vengeance.” This line could tie in to the character of Khan. In the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Kahn swears vengeance on Captain Kirk for exiling him. The trailer then shows the earlier mentioned volcano, shots of members of the Enterprise, and the USS Enterprise itself emerging from what looks like a body of water. The trailer ends with a shot of Cumberbatch, the line “So…shall we begin?” and shots of destruction to the Starfleet event in the beginning of the trailer.
In many of the shots of Cumberbatch in this trailer he is seen to wearing a Starfleet uniform. This seems to suggest him being Gary Mitchell as that character was a member of the Enterprise’s crew and friend of James T. Kirk. Despite this an extended Japanese trailer for the film has a shot of Kirk holding his hand up to another man’s on the other side of glass. This is reminiscent of a similar shot in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
So who is Benedict Cumberbatch’s villainous character? Because J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and now Star Trek Into Darkness take place in an alternate timeline there are many possibilities. This character could be Khan, Gary Mitchell, or even a mixture of both. Abrams could be tricking us with these hints and could end up introducing a completely new character. Hopefully we will know more when the full trailer and IMAX preview appear before The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this week.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gH2PVVfp68&w=560&h=315]
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