Khan's Into Darkness Appearance change finally explained

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

  1. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    Obviously that's not the reason, or else they wouldn't have originally wanted Benicio del Toro et. al like CommishSleer just mentioned.

    They chose Benedict Cumberbatch for the role not because he was a "white guy," but because he was a good actor and he wanted the role. The necessity of the character needing to be dark of skin went out the window once he was cast.

    If I wrote a play in which the main character was Irish, but then found out that Denzel Washington wanted to play the part, you better believe I'd be rewriting my play to accommodate him.
     
  2. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Let's hope it's not a play about Michael Collins.
     
  3. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    And then I could write a five issue comic tie-in to explain how this Irishman suddenly became Denzel Washington!
     
  4. Queen Mab

    Queen Mab Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    :wtf:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_in_Ireland
     
  5. JD5000

    JD5000 Captain Captain

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    BONOOOOOO!!!!

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    But could Denzel do the accent? ;)
     
  7. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    Why not? If Sir Patrick can play Othello, than Sir Denzel could play Collins.

    Yeah, but nobody would read it.

    Obviously you totally missed my point.

    He's a great actor. I have complete confidence in him. ;)
     
  8. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

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    Maybe if Denzel became the president of Ireland, that might turn more heads. That's essentially what Cumberbatch is, if the back story of Khan was the same. He's like Shinzon... it doesn't make too much sense.
     
  9. Anduril

    Anduril Nose down. Throttle up. Captain

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    I really don't think that Enterprise would have explained it if Deep Space Nine didn't bring it up.
     
  10. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    Agreed. DS9 didn't have to mention it at all. And the solution that ENT came up with was both a virus and genetic mutation, which were both suggested by Bashir and O'Brien in DS9. It seems pretty clear to me that without that scene, the ENT duology might never have happened.
     
  11. Ovation

    Ovation Admiral Admiral

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    It didn't need explaining but I enjoyed the two episodes and found the explanation plausible "in-universe" (especially as it allowed an "out" to have TOS Klingon characters appear in TNG era makeup). Would have been fine either way, but the explanation works reasonably well.
     
  12. BigJake

    BigJake Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Really? I as a person of color think that's a pretty perverse reason to not give the work to a South Asian actor, and that it "solves" a non-existent problem. It's like saying that Denzel Washington shouldn't have been cast as Alonzo Harris or Frank Lucas because that might be bad for black people.

    (I see on preview that Denzel has come up... :p)
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2014
  13. OneBuckFilms

    OneBuckFilms Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    From what I can tell, the PRIMARY reason for the change was simple:

    They liked what Cumberbatch could bring to the role, something they were right about, IMHO.

    All of the other stuff was simply things they thought about during the process of finding the right actor for the role.

    The comic-book explanation is merely to provide an answer for those who need/want something more detailed.

    A plausible retcon, really, nothing more. :)
     
  14. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    But Khan's backstory is that he was created by scientists in a test tube, so it's a poor comparison. His colouration could be by design or a fluke, and not at all indicative of what country he was manufactured in.
     
  15. WarpFactorZ

    WarpFactorZ Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Maybe in the nu-verse, India outsources biotech to England for cheap labor. "Hello, thank you for calling EugenTech, my name is Khan. How may I conquer you today?"
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2014
  16. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm sure I would hook 2% of your audience. That's apparently enough for a tie-in comic to succeed.
     
  17. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

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    It's not a poor comparison at all. It really doesn't matter what his skin color is or how he came to be, but to say a pasty white man rose to power in India, a black man rose to power in Ireland, or a human rose to power on Remus, stretches credibility.
     
  18. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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  19. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

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    That's a decent example. While not the ruler of a nation that I was thinking of, there's apparently been some controversy surrounding her nationality.

    And of course there could be all sorts of exceptions like that for a white Khan. He could have usurped power, and his race/nationality would be less consequential. But all of this really just makes so many assumptions that it still strains credibility a bit.
     
  20. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    Or maybe you just roll with it.