No Khan for Star Trek 2

Badass Digest is claiming to have a scoop on the development of the much anticipated sequel to JJ Abrams’ Star Trek sequel. According to Badass Digest, they have a source that is close to the production of the film and has informed them that the basic storyline has been decided on and that they will not be going with Khan as the villain for the sequel, but will be pulling from the classic Trek universe for a protagonist.

. . . my source says that the film won’t be focused on a traditional ‘villain’ type at all.

The story will focus on a classic Trek character. And when I say classic, I mean a character who appeared in season one of the original series, when Gene Roddenberry was in charge.

It’s definitely a character that will make fans of TOS excited. Think along the lines of Harry Mudd or Trelane or Gary Mitchell or the Talosians or the Horta. Actually it’s one of those that I named.

Now, the age that I am, I have seen almost all episodes from TOS, but The Next Generation was the Star Trek I grew up with – so don’t be too embarrassed if those characters don’t exactly ring familiar bells with you. Luckily though, Badass Digest has a great break down of all of these characters and how they might play into this new Star Trek universe. My bet? Out of the characters listed it seems it would be cool to see the “Q-like” character of Trelane make an appearance, or see Kirk have a personal struggle this time around (since the first film was pretty Spock-centric in this department) with a character like helmsman Gary Mitchell – Kirk’s best friend who is turned into an evil God-like being.

I like the idea of staying away from Khan. Abrams has developed a new universe for the crew of the Enterprise and it would be kind of shame to see them just start rehashing villains from prior films. When the filmmakers made Khan – a previously somewhat forgettable protagonist from the series – the villain it was a stroke of genius to bring back this minor character in a big way, and with a vengeance. It looks like Abrams is looking to do something similar by looking to the original series to find his man of mishief for the sequel.

In any case, I can’t wait to see what we get for Star Trek 2 – which I’m pretty sure will eventually get a sweet subtitle . . .

Come make some new friends (or enemies! . . . or even “frienemies”) in the BSR Forum and share your thoughts on villain selection for Abrams’ Star Trek sequel!