Why Khan As STAR TREK 2 Villain Would Be A Huge Mistake
Let's hope J.J. Abrams doesn't fall prey to one of the oldest Star Trek dramatic devices: repetition.
Disclaimer: This article was first written by Ray DeRousse for what was then Obsessed With Film on May 18th, 2009. I have decided to re-run this article in the days after J.J. Abrams has reportedly offered the villain role in his Star Trek sequel to Benicio Del Toro. We sincerely hope the idea is for Del Toro not to play Khan but as the Internet explodes with fanboys claiming Khan's return would be no different to The Joker's re-use in The Dark Knight... I feel Ray's words are still apt and accurate. Enjoy...Reboots and prequels are a bad idea for everyone except studio executives and their shareholders. Creativity is shackled to previously-formed ideas and developments, and everyone involved vainly attempts to recreate what everyone loved about the previous version. Don't get me wrong - J.J. Abrams did a pretty good job rebooting Star Trek. The alternate timeline gambit paid off, giving the movie a certain lift since it was no longer tied to the events of later years. This avoids what was, of course, one of the worst aspects of the Star Wars prequels, as well as the recent Wolverine abomination - you knew what was going to happen later, so everything had to play into that eventuality. It not only saps the movie of drama, but it also causes an instant comparison to previous films rather than create its own identity. But I didn't really care for all of the time travel nonsense in the film. While necessary for Abrams' alternate universe idea, it came off as a convoluted gimmick. This was particularly true of Old Spock's magical reappearance in the ice cave, thereby converging the two timelines in a ridiculously haphazard way. However, by the end of the film, I wanted the franchise to shake itself free of the former timeline and to boldly move into new territory. But clearly Abrams and his writers are not willing to do that. In this recent interview, Abrams breathlessly discusses the possibility of including Old Kirk in the sequel via yet another time travel device (ugh), or possibly including the infamous Khan in it as well. WHY???????