
Speaking frankly with MTV News
Star Trek Into Darkness director
JJ Abrams admits that maybe keeping Khan in the Mystery Box wasn't the best idea.
The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront ‘This is who it is.' It was only trying to preserve the fun of it, and it might have given more time to acclimate and accept that's what the thing was,
Abrams said.
The truth is because it was so important to the studio that we not angle this thing for existing fans. If we said it was Khan, it would feel like you've really got to know what ‘Star Trek' is about to see this movie. That would have been limiting. I can understand their argument to try to keep that quiet, but I do wonder if it would have seemed a little bit less like an attempt at deception if we had just come out with it.
Abrams, screenwriters
Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci and
Alex Kurtzman, as well as the actors themselves, swore for months that the character was not Khan. Therefore, when the movie revealed it was indeed Khan, it wasn't surprising at all, just despicable.
Meanwhile, Abrams is still on-board as a producer of the third
Trek film (rumored to be titled
Star Trek: This is Who It Is) and reports have been swirling that the studio has its eye on
Attack the Block director
Joe Cornish to take the wheel.
I don't know if Joe Cornish is the guy. My guess is that's up in the air. I adore him and love him and can't wait to see what he does next. Hopefully it will be Star Trek. Whatever it is, he's brilliant. Attack the Block was one of my favorite movies of the year when it came out,
JJ added.
Head below to watch the full interview.