From the first time we saw the initial "Star Trek Into Darkness" teaser, we were convinced Khan was the antagonist.
We were so excited, we nearly referred to Benedict Cumberbatch's character as such before realizing there was no confirmation as to the villain's actual identity.
So, when initial reports "revealing" his character as John Harrison (who?) came out, we cried bluff along with all the other Trekkie diehards.
We know Cumberbatch have all but sworn on the bible that his character is no more than some unknown character to the "Star Trek" universe.
However, all evidence has been telling us otherwise.
1. Filmmakers have led us astray beforehand when attempting to hide big villain reveals ("The Dark Knight Rises"). And, director J.J. Abrams is notorious for keeping a tight lid on all of his projects from "Lost" to "Cloverfield" and "Super 8."
2. The IMDB listing
IMDBpro (and now, IMDB) lists him rumored as Khan. The site hasn't steered us wrong yet. It's initially why we believed – and held onto the belief – that Marion Cotillard's Miranda Tate in "The Dark Knight Rises" was nothing more than a cover-up for her reveal as Talia Al Ghul.
3. Costar Zachary Quinto may have slipped up when he mistakenly mentioned Khan's name in a recent interview.
4. The latest evidence that has us convinced? Alice Eve's character of Dr. Carol Marcus first appearance in the "Star Trek" universe was in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of ... Khan"!
Yesterday, Paramount released high-resolution images for the film including a lot of photos of Cumberbatch's mystery villain.
(If they look slightly familiar, it's because they are also running in Empire.)
The images don't do much for plot reveal.
However, if you pair them with the plot synopsis revealed in November, the story starts to clear up and helps make the argument for a parallel to "Wrath of Khan" much more appealing.
At the end of the day, we just can't see any possible way that Cumberbatch is anyone else – and if he is, bravo Abrams. You got us.
James Kirk (Chris Pine) and Dr. Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) look like they've just received some troubling news.
It was revealed last month, Eve will be playing the role of Dr. Carol Marcus. If you're a Trekkie, you know that means that her character is the (spoiler) eventual mother to Kirk's son David.
Bonus points if you know that her character's first appearance in the "Star Trek" universe was in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of ... Khan"!
And, it looks like Scotty (Simon Pegg) has received the bad news as well.
What could that be? The first line from the plot synopsis: "When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization."
The above photo shows Kirk with Pike (Bruce Greenwood) – who looks like he may be out of his wheelchair from the first film.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.