Khan's Into Darkness Appearance change finally explained

[Dukhat]

I think we all know the 'real' reason why Khan became 'white' is because the original actors selected decided for one reason or another decided against being in the movie.

I thought the real reason was another vain attempt to keep the secret. "Hey guys, they'll never think it's Khan if we make him a white guy!"

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.

 

[JarodRussell]

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

 

[The Wormhole]

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.

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

 

[Queen Mab]

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.

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

 

[JD5000]

BONOOOOOO!!!!

 

[Sindatur]

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.

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

But could Denzel do the accent?

 

[Dukhat]

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

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

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

Yeah, but nobody would read it.

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

Obviously you totally missed my point.

But could Denzel do the accent?

He's a great actor. I have complete confidence in him.

 

[Ryan8bit]

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.

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

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.

 

[Anduril]

According to the just-released Khan #5 comic, it's due to facial reconstruction, memory wiping, and vocal cord manipulation. Thoughts?

Much like the execrable Enterprise two-parter that 'explained' the Klingon appearance change, this is really a question that no one needs the answer to.

Ricardo Montalban wasn't available. Benedict Cumberbatch nailed his audition.

What else is there to know?

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

 

[Skywalker]

According to the just-released Khan #5 comic, it's due to facial reconstruction, memory wiping, and vocal cord manipulation. Thoughts?

Much like the execrable Enterprise two-parter that 'explained' the Klingon appearance change, this is really a question that no one needs the answer to.

Ricardo Montalban wasn't available. Benedict Cumberbatch nailed his audition.

What else is there to know?

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

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.

 

[Ovation]

Much like the execrable Enterprise two-parter that 'explained' the Klingon appearance change, this is really a question that no one needs the answer to.

Ricardo Montalban wasn't available. Benedict Cumberbatch nailed his audition.

What else is there to know?

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

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.

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.

 

[BigJake]

^ I do believe in the last round we played of "But Ricardo Montalban Was White So What's The Big Deal," somebody cited Abrams as being supposedly uncomfortable with featuring a South Asian as a villain because 9-11 or something, which hopefully is not true as it would be a fairly lame explanation.

That's a great one that I, as a person of color, accept. And Abrams is right on that one.

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... )

 

[OneBuckFilms]

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.

 

[F. King Daniel]

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.

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

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.

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.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

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.

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?"

 

[The Wormhole]

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

Yeah, but nobody would read it.

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

 

[Ryan8bit]

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

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.

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.

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.

 

[iguana_tonante]

say a pasty white man rose to power in India

Definitively not a white man.

 

[Ryan8bit]

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.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Or maybe you just roll with it.