For reasons beyond my understanding, the villain of Star Trek 2 continues to be a mystery.  We'll find out who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing, and we'll find it out well before the film opens on May 17, 2013.  But because J.J. Abrams believes secrecy is the greatest good, we've been left to speculate on the villain's identity.  However, Karl Urban may have accidentally shown Abrams' hand.Hit the jump to find out the possible villain for Star Trek 2.  I guess you could consider it a spoiler even though it will be "spoiled" for you at least six months before the movie hits theaters.star-trek-gary-mitchellDuring a promotional junket for his upcoming film Dredd, Urban told SFX about what it was like to work with Cumberbatch:

“He’s awesome, he’s a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary.”

So who is Gary Mitchell?  A potentially great choice for the villain.  If you don't consider "The Cage" to be the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, then Gary Mitchell is the series' first antagonist.  The character appeared in the series' premiere episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and was played by Gary Lockwood.  Mitchell attended Starfleet Academy with Kirk, and the two went on a mission to a planet where Mitchell was hit by a galactic barrier that gave him the following abilities [hat tip to Memory Alpha]:

  • Hypercognition
  • Conscious regulation of autonomic reflexes
  • Telepathy
  • Extrasensory perception of various kinds, including clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairoratory
  • Telekinesis
  • The ability to control energy, including both its directed use as a weapon against other organisms, and an invulnerability to phaser weapons
  • The ability to manipulate matter, including the instant materialization and dematerialization of both organisms and objects

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Mitchell became violent and dangerous, and Kirk attempted to strand Mitchell on Delta Vega.  The two fought, and Kirk killed Mitchell by knocking him into a grave that Mitchell had ironically prepared for his captain, and Kirk used a phaser to make a bunch of rocks fall on top of Mitchell.  It doesn't make a lot of sense when the guy had the power of telekinesis, but whatever.

Returning to Abrams' Star Trek 2, it our fears about Khan being the villain were put to rest by Simon Pegg, who denied that the popular baddie wouldn't be in the upcoming sequel.  However, SFX points out that Mitchell has already appeared in the new Star Trek comic book series.  Furthermore, the film's co-writer Roberto Orci has denied that Mitchell will be the villain, but I trust Orci about as far as I can throw him (and I have very weak arms).  Finally, Urban's reveal seems credible since Cumberbatch's outfit has a Starfleet emblem on it.

There's still the matter of the Klingons, and we'll have to see where they factor into the plot.  Keep in mind that Abrams and his writers have no obligation to stay 100% faithful to the Gary Mitchell from the original series, and I highly doubt they will.  Nevertheless, Mitchell seems like a good choice for a new villain, and allows the new film to still tie-in with the original series without having to sit in the shadow of a masterpiece like Wrath of Khan.