December 13, 2012 11:54

JJ Abrams on Benedict Cumberbatch's 'Star Trek 2' villain: 'He's frightening and cool'

And the mysterious baddie apparently has a 'secret' to hide...

Director JJ Abrams has spoken out about Benedict Cumberbatch's mysterious character from Star Trek Into Darkness.

Earlier this week (December 11), a new image surfaced showing Cumberbatch alongside Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock - it appears at the top of this article. The accompanying caption from Paramount Pictures lists the Cumberbatch figure as John Harrison, the first time his character has been given a name. However, some fan forums and movie news websites are speculating that the name could be a decoy.

Last month (November 2012), Paramount released a plot teaser for Star Trek Into Darkness, revealing that Captain Kirk will "lead a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction".

Cumberbatch is known to be playing a villain, perhaps the so-called "one-man weapon of mass destruction", though this has not been confirmed. In a new interview with MTV, Abrams remained coy, but said teasingly of Cumberbatch's character: "The whole thing, not just his backstory, but his agenda, his plan, his secret, all that is what, for me at least, makes him such a frightening and cool villain."

For a glimpse of Cumberbatch's villain, scroll down and click 'play' to watch the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. The film - JJ Abrams' sequel to 2009's Star Trek - is scheduled for release next May (2013).