Star Trek Into Darkness: Benedict Cumberbatch character named

But just who the hell is John Harrison?


After all the talk of Khan, Gary Mitchell and numerous other adversaries from Star Trek canon, the first official still of Benedict Cumberbatch’s character in Into Darkness (not counting the movie poster, which only showed him from behind) appears to reveal him as… John Harrison. No, us neither.


The name appears in the caption accompanying the new image released by Paramount Studios, which reads: “(Left to right) Zachary Quinto is Spock, Benedict Cumberbatch is John Harrison and Chris Pine is Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions.”

So who is John Harrison? Knowing director JJ Abrams, there’s a very good chance the name is just a red herring designed to further increase the hype surrounding Cumberbatch and the movie. And it seems unlikely he’d pass up the opportunity to have fun with an exisiting Star Trek villain. 


Cumberbatch is pictured wearing a Star Fleet uniform, which might point to Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell, but could also just mean a disguise. Perhaps John Harrison is an alias. At the moment, it’s all just speculation. And whatever the truth, JJ Abrams is rubbing his hands together and laughing…