The STAR TREK Sequel: Who Khan It Be Now?

With Benicio Del Toro turning down the role of Khan Noonien Singh a presently unknown villain in J.J. Abrams' sequel to the 2009 Star Trek film, speculation is already turning to actor Edgar Ramirez from The Bourne Ultimatum as a potential replacement.  Variety reports that Ramirez, along with Jordi Molla, are contenders for the leading role.

Last week, Abrams stated that reports that Del Toro was playing Khan in the sequel were "not true."  However, this comment may simply refer to Del Toro's involvement in the production and not that Khan is indeed the film's villain.  The current casting speculation seems curious, though, knowing that Khan was originally portrayed in the original Star Trek television series episode "Space Seed" and later in the feature film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by the late Ricardo Montalban, a Latin actor born in Mexico.  According to IMDb, Del Toro was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, while Ramirez was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and Molla was born in Barcelona, Spain, so whatever the role actually turns out to be, it does seem to be tailored to a Latin actor.

This also creates some speculation that recently-cast actress Alice Eve could be playing the role of Lt. Marla McGivers, the U.S.S. Enterprise's historian in "Space Seed" wooed by Khan into helping him seize control of the starship and ultimately banished with Khan to the planet Ceti Alpha V.

The Star Trek sequel will have a script by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof and will begin shooting in early 2012, for the scheduled release date of May 17, 2013.