Khan's Into Darkness Appearance change finally explained

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by BlueMetroid, Feb 27, 2014.

  1. Shaka Zulu

    Shaka Zulu Commodore Commodore

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    My sentiments exactly.
     
  2. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Didn't care? No. Nobody even noticed it. For the audience there was no noticable change in Khan's appearance, other than that he got much older and wore self made clothes.

    The new film on the other hand noticably whitewashed the guy.
     
  3. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Perhaps John Harriman is actually John Harriman, a follower of Khan's, who assumed his master's identity after Khan died onboard the Botany Bay due to a faulty cyrogentic tube. That would explain the differences.
     
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  4. Herkimer Jitty

    Herkimer Jitty Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Cryogenic tube won't be installed until Tuesday.
     
  5. BlueMetroid

    BlueMetroid Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Yep! I asked him on Twitter before he deleted his account.
     
  6. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It was 1982, a time before home video, easy screengrabs and photoshop comparisons. Even letterzines of the time were black and white. Had this pic been available, fans very much would have noticed and complained.
     
  7. Hartzilla2007

    Hartzilla2007 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Did it ever occur to you that the main reason for that might be because Space Seed wasn't available on home video at the time so that people who would be watching Wrath of Khan back then would be going off of memories of a 15 year old TV episode they may have seen once or twice.

    Do you honestly think that if trek fans back then had the level of access to the old episodes we have today they wouldn't have been bitching about it?
     
  8. Khan 2.0

    Khan 2.0 Commodore Commodore

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    i wonder if theyd have had the appearance change explanation had original choice Benico Del Toro been cast (or if theyd got STID out summer 2011 or 2012 with a pre Skyfall Javier Barhem)

    probably not
     
  9. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

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    I think people were probably more likely to accept it in TWOK just because it was the same actor, and the skin color wasn't of much consequence. When you start recasting, the gates of scrutiny are much more open. And it's not as if it was just the skin color that was different. The accent, the build, and the general character were different too.

    All that said, I think an in-universe explanation isn't necessary at all. That stuff needs to be left to fanon.
     
  10. BlueMetroid

    BlueMetroid Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I've often wondered this. I hope they would have, as Del Toro and Montalban look absolutely nothing alike, other than both being Latino.
     
  11. The Doctor

    The Doctor Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Neither does Shatner and Pine or Takei and Cho, or Nichols and Saldana.

    Etc, etc, etc.

    Actors change, makeup gets better. It doesn't need to be a thing that's explained in-universe because the effort of explaining distracts from the actual objective: telling a good dramatic story.
     
  12. M.A.C.O.

    M.A.C.O. Commodore Commodore

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    I'm bringing this back.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. thumbtack

    thumbtack Commodore Commodore

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    While it effectively disarms the whiners, Khan's whiteness was never the real reason the whiners were whining, so I don't think an explanation was needed.
     
  14. OpenMaw

    OpenMaw Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    So, do tell, what were the reasons? :)
     
  15. BlueMetroid

    BlueMetroid Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    In my opinion, the appearance change from Montalban to Del Toro would have been too dramatic to be believable without some sort of back story (i.e. comics). With the main cast, barring a couple exceptions, I think they did a great job casting younger versions. Karl Urban in particular.
     
  16. Skellington

    Skellington Part-time poltergeist Rear Admiral

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    Actually, the operation was as much to fool Khan himself as anyone else.
     
  17. starburst

    starburst Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It makes sense as it not only helps to condition a brainwashed 'John Harrison' but so no historians he meets amongst the fleet remark about his resemblance to a certain 20th century warlord.

    I agree though it didnt need to be explained, I had already assumed something like that had happened as it covers all the questions we have despite whether we like the character of 'John Harrison' and how he turned out or not.
     
  18. Khan 2.0

    Khan 2.0 Commodore Commodore

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    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 8, 2014
  19. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    While the picture made me laugh, it isn't particularly fair, is it.

    I think the casting was great, and most new actors nailed the character, without copying the old actors. But truth to be told, with the exception of maybe Quinto and Urban, the new guys look nothing like their predecessors. Cho, Yelchin and Pegg in particular look very different from Takei, Koenig, and Doohan.
     
  20. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Likely done for the sake of those in the audience not familiar with TOS. They won't care or notice that Khan is a white guy. It was likely considered an unnecessary distraction, although to be honest so was the bridge scene in Trek XI which is basically "we're in a reboot, that stuff that happened before doesn't matter."

    But anyway, it was probably felt only a small percentage of the audience would really care anyway, and so it would be best to serve their desires in the form of a comic instead.