Even though I love to talk about and speculate on the villain that Benedict Cumberbatch plays in Star Trek Into Darkness, I'm really kind of happy that I don't know. I do like surprises, and it's hard to be surprised with movies anymore, especially since I read and watch everything that comes out--it's just what I do, I find it fun. We've heard a ton of different theories about the John Harrison character, no one is saying anything other than how badass of a villain he actually is. Screenwriter Damon Lindelof recently talked to Hero Complex, and he explains the importance of keeping the true identity of the villain a secret.
The audience needs to have the same experience that the crew is having. You’re Kirk, you’re Spock, you’re McCoy, so if they don’t know who the bad guy is going to be in the movie, then you shouldn’t know. It’s not just keeping the secret for secrecy’s sake. It’s not giving the audience information that the characters don’t have.
I love that explanation! Even the people who are working with Lindelof on other projects don't know who the villain is. Lindelof doesn't want to tell them, at the same time they don't want to know either!
They’ll say, ‘So, seriously, who’s Benedict playing?’ I’ll say, ‘Do you really want to know?’ Then they go, ‘No, no, no, I don’t.’
They know that if I said it to them. they would have a five-second rush of exhilaration followed by four months of being completely and totally bummed out that they can’t tell anybody else and that when it gets revealed in the movie, it will have been spoiled for them. That’s why they’re called ‘spoilers,’ they’re not called ‘awesomes.’
When we find out the true identity of the villain in the movie, I'm sure we'll all be like... "Oh I knew it!" Maybe not though, maybe it will be a complete surprise. I'm just excited as hell to see the movie! It comes out on May 17th, 2013, and I know it's going to be epically entertaining!