"The villain is Ben Sisko." "D'uh?" Sent back by the Prophets or escaped, with a very different attitude than he had before (which would be later if time was linear, but it's not) and determined to find a way to stop the Dominion war before it begins and/or make sure the Cardassians never invade Bajor, for the good of the Bajorans and the Federation. But no one listens to him and he has to use unwelcome tactics to achieve his goals. Damn I'm stupid! But that's a good way to remember DS9!
I'm torn between Charlie X or Garth. Garth I think has a bigger fan following than Charlie X. But Garth (IMO) should look older than Cumberbatch appears. If JJ is casting for appearance, than compare Charlie X and Garth to Cumberbatch. http://25.media.tumblr.com/qwCaJqK9Go06kynxsRlYfLYWo1_400.jpg http://volcanoseven.com/TheThunderChild/EBAYReady/SteveIhnatDesktop.JPG http://images.starpulse.com/news/bloggers/10/blog_images/star-trek-into-darkness-1.jpg Mitchell does not look like Cumberbatch. And as mentioned before, he would have no need for a handheld weapon.
You know it could be Charlie X. Maybe Alice Eve screams in the trailer because Cumberbatch has just slapped her butt.
Come on. It's obviously Trelane. When we first met him in "The Squire of Gothos," he was just a petulant, spoiled child. Now, he's an angst-filled, surly teenager, brooding about the way his parents punished him for mistreating humans. "They sent me to bed without any supper. And now... I will have my VENGEANCE!!!"
Nah, it can't be her, General Hague dragged her to DS9. Unless... Oh my god! Cumberbatch is Arne Darvin! I can see it all clear now
Of course, the U.S.S. Enterprise crew are all together a bit earlier than they were in the Prime Universe and "Whom Gods Destroy" about a decade further ahead from when Star Trek Into Darkness is presumably set. Knock 10 years off, account for the grey hair as stress and a change in appearance due to aliens repairing whatever injuries Garth had. Reminds me of First Contact, and all the various attempts to explain how Glenn Corbett and James Cromwell were both supposed to Zefram Cochrane.
Garth is out, because the character depicted is not (as far as we know) a shapeshifter. Mitchel is out because we see the character at one point using a BFG in a fight. Gary, with his powers, would not need a BFG. Also, the Gary story was done in the comics already. Khan has all the attributes of the character depicted in the trailer. Super-soldier/physically advanced human? Check. Vengence-driven for a wrong of some sort? Check. Cumberbatch in a SF uniform could be a flashback to how he came to be wronged by Starfleet after being found, just as he wore one in the Prime universe after Kirk found him. JJ could get around the fact that Kirk is a new captain by having Khan's discovery and exile/imprisonment be something Pike did, and now Kirk has to clean up his mess.
Why do we expect that the character will be a carbon copy of a previous character including the story? Apart from the distinct possibility that the character is brand new, it could be an old character with a new story and a new persona. There some hints here and there that the character is not an evil villain, but a complicated person, who is in some way dear to the crew or the federation. You could use that to discount Khan as well. Of course, that could all be false. No superpowers? No Gary Mitchell. Not a distinct bad guy? No Khan. Not a shapeshifter? No Garth. Not a spoilt teenager? No Charlie. No ridiculous outfit? No Mudd. Hey, wait, it's Korby.
One thing I have noticed is the the character seems to tie in strongly with Spock. the glass scene in the Japanese trailer is supposablly Cumby and Spock, not Kirk and Spock as mentioned be someone that has seen the next trailer. Also, Cumby looks just like a human version of Spock, the body and the dark hair. So what if the 'Enemy Within' happened with Spock and not Kirk?? Spock was split into a Vulcan side and a human side (Cumby). It's and interesting senario. Ok I called it first, do i win a prize if true..lol
Or maybe Cumberbatch is the fully-human half brother of Spock, the son of Amanda and her first husband. He blames Spock for not being able to save their mother from her fall. And he will. Haf. His. Vengeance! Hey, they did it with Sybok, why not this?
Maybe Cumber is Spock's mother. She was saved by a mysterious entity that was observing Vulcan's destruction. The entity also changed her sex and gave her powers. Now she's back to avenge those who left her behind.