When Benicio del Toro was first reported to be the up for a role in Star Trek 2, it was believed that del Toro would play the villain in the movie. This set off online rumors that the Traffic actor would play Khan Noonien Singh, the memorable villain portrayed by the late Ricardo Montalbán in a 1967 episode of the original Star Trek series episode and again in the 1982 movie sequel Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Director J.J. Abrams publicly revealed that the rumors were "not true," but the rumors persisted. Once del Toro dropped out, actors Édgar Ramírez (Carlos, Vantage Point) and Jordi Mollà (Colombiana) were both being considered to replace del Toro. Finally, the Khan rumors may be officially over, as Variety reports that British actor Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC's Sherlock, War Horse) has landed the role Ramírez auditioned for and, by extension, del Toro was initially offered.
more on cumberbatch's role and the other new cast member >> Posted 01.05.12 by Ryan