Benicio Del Toro: New 'Star Trek' villain?

Beam him up?

It looks like J.J. Abrams has found his villain for his "Star Trek" sequel.

Justin Kroll of Variety reports:

Sources close to the project tell Variety that Benicio Del Toro is expected to be offered the part, possibly before the weekend is out. Insiders say Del Toro has met with Abrams but, in an effort to keep the role a secret, still doesn't know exactly what it is. 

The obvious question: Who will the villain be? Someone new? Someone old?


According to Mark Hughes of Forbes:

There have already been some possible hints.  Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have explained that they were looking at old episodes of the original series for some inspiration, and in particular one name did come up. The same name, in fact, that J.J. Abrams mentioned at one point as well.

Khan.

Let him rest in peace, please.

Or, as William Shatner would have it, "KKKKHHHHAAAAANNNNN!"

Personally, I would find the recycling of an iconic figure such as Khan disappointing. The filmmakers did an outstanding job on the first film, establishing a new universe for Captain Kirk and his crew. They should continue to go where no Trek has gone before.