Damon Lindelof Admits STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Screwed Up With That Whole Khan Reveal

I actually like Star Trek Into Darkness better than most, but even I can't go to bat for the way the production team handled the movie's main villain. Director J.J. Abrams went as far as to film fake scenes for the movie while reporters were visiting the set in an attempt to keep the villain's identity a secret, but when we all sat down in the theater and heard Benedict Cumberbatch's character John Harrison reveal that he was, in fact, Khan — just as fans had suspected all along — well, it didn't go over very well.

Since then, Cumberbatch has spoken up about how the situation was handled, and even Abrams himself has expressed regret for what sounds like a studio mandated decision to keep Khan a secret. Now, years after the movie's release, co-writer Damon Lindelof is joining the chorus, calling the decision a "mistake." He told Variety (via The Playlist):

"There’s no reason to be mysterious just for mysterious’ sake.

That’s the thing that I’m trying to learn, because it’s completely and totally situational. When we did 'Star Trek Into Darkness' for example, we decided that we weren’t going to tell people that Benedict Cumberbatch was playing Khan. And that was a mistake, because the audience was like, 'We know he’s playing Khan.' That was why it was a mistake. But J.J. [Abrams] is telling us nothing about the new 'Star Wars' movie and we love it. I’ve not come across a single person who’s like, 'I wish I knew a little bit more.' We are like, 'Thank God he’s protecting us from all the things that will be revealed in the movie theater.'"

Well, he's right on all accounts there. It definitely was a mistake to try to hide that character's identity, and he's also right that fans seem to be loving the marketing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The big difference, of course, is that for Star Wars, the filmmakers aren't actively lying to the press about the identity of a main character...as far as we know. I find it hard to believe J.J. would make that mistake again.

Meanwhile, Lindelof is hard at work on The Leftovers, an HBO show I gave up on after a few episodes but one I've heard has gotten crazy good in its second season.