Ever since Benedict Cumberbatch was announced as the villain of the upcoming "Star Trek Into Darkness" speculation has run rampant regarding his identity.
The first 30 minutes of the film have been unveiled and there is still no major clue as to who this new villain might be. Director JJ Abrams has refused to make any statements on his identity and it seems that screenwriter Damon Lindelof is following his lead.
"The audience needs to have the same experience that the crew is having. 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," he asserts. "It's not just keeping the secret for secrecy's sake. It's not giving the audience information that the characters don't have... [If fans found out the Cumbervillain's identity now 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.'"
He added that the film centered on the idea of family. "If the first movie was about meeting and introductions, this movie is about becoming a family," he elaborates. "The title of the movie is not just about the mission that the Enterprise is going on but what happens when you get to know each other a little better and the hurdles you must jump over in order to truly become family."
While Lindelof's reasons for withholding the reveal certainly make sense, it is questionable whether or not they will have the intended impact. According to The Mary Sue, "That said, while Lindelof's reasons for keeping the Cumbervillain secret are, I think, good ones, there is the question of whether it's practical. The level of anticipation with this villain reveal is insane, and I'm kind of worried that the eventual reveal won't live up to that."
The film comes out on May 17, 2013.