Karl Urban May Have Revealed The Identity Of Benedict Cumberbatch's 'Star Trek 2' Villain

J.J. Abrams and his Star Trek 2 co-conspirators have been fairly good so far about protecting the identity of the film's villain. We know that Benedict Cumberbatch plays the bad guy, but beyond that we get into the territory of rumor and speculation. Is the actor playing Khan, so memorably portrayed by Ricardo Montalban in the original TV series and 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? Is he playing a character related to Khan, or someone else altogether?

We've heard quite a few possible names over the past few months, but there has been no confirmation of just who will menace the Enterprise crew in the new film. But now Karl Urban, who plays Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the Abrams Trek movies, may have let the name slip.

While discussing his own upcoming Dredd with SFX, Karl Urban briefly talked about Star Trek 2. Asked about working with Cumberbatch, Urban said,

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

Gary Mitchell is a character from the original TV series, originally appearing in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before,' an episode crafted as the second pilot for the show, and aired as the third episode. Mitchell is an old friend of Kirk's, and an Enterprise crew member, who is granted powerful telepathic and telekinetic powers. Things don't end well, with Mitchell and Kirk engaging in a deadly showdown.

Mitchell's name has been mentioned in conjunction with this sequel, more than once. The first time was in this statement:

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.

The second time was when Trek 2 producer and co-writer Roberto Orci said that Mitchell is one of five characters that are definitely not in the film.

So did Urban really mess up and give away the bad guy's ID, or is this another piece of misdirection? We're not likely to find out at Comic Con, as Paramount isn't bringing movies to the event this year. And with Trek 2 not set for release until May 2013, we might have to wait a good while before getting any confirmation about the character.