Bryan Cranston Could Be The Villain in STAR TREK 3, Plus New Character Details

Let's kick this off by saying that none of this is confirmed. Now that that's out of the way, Film Divider has come across some info about Paramount's upcoming Star Trek 3 that is very interesting. The juiciest bit is that the villain in this sequel is supposedly "Bryan Cranston-like, to the point that Cranston himself has had words with the studio about taking the role." That's far from a confirmation, but imagining Cranston - who has proven to be one of the most versatile and entertaining actors working today - chewing some space scenery is pretty exciting.

But regardless of who ends up playing the film's big bad, there are some more details that should make people happy who were disappointed in the (some say gratuitous) shot of Alice Eve in lingerie in Star Trek Into Darkness. Film Divider's intel indicates that there are going to be three new female roles in the movie, and all three of them sound like capable, legitimate characters. (In 2015, we really shouldn't be shocked when we hear news of strong female roles being written into massive blockbusters, but the fact that it's still something of a surprise gives you a good idea of how much work the industry still has to do in terms of equality.) The three new roles are:

The President of the Federation: This role has never been held by a woman before, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be. Hopefully the part will be a bit more substantial than Tyler Perry's role in this franchise (not that Perry was bad in J.J. Abrams' 2009 movie, he just didn't have much to do).

A female captain of a Federation ship: The production is supposedly looking for an actress set up as an equal to Chris Pine's Captain Kirk, so they'll be looking for charismatic, energetic young women to fill the part. This sounds like it could be a fun character.

And finally, Leonard "Bones" McCoy's ex-wife: Karl Urban's Bones is one of my favorite parts of Abrams' two Star Trek films, but he's been mostly relegated to the sidelines in favor of stories that put Kirk, Spock, and Uhura at the center. I'm glad to hear that Bones' ex-wife is being brought into the fray, because that will obviously mean more screen time for Urban and something for him to do other than stand there and do an admittedly-great DeForest Kelley impression.

What do you think about this new information? Interested in seeing Cranston possibly play a villain? Who would you like to see in the three new female roles? Sound off below.