J.J. Abrams admits keeping Khan’s ‘Star Trek’ identity a secret was probably a mistake

J.J. Abrams is very, very sorry.

The “Star Trek Into Darkness” director now admits that keeping Khan’s identity a secret in the lead-up to the sci-fi sequel’s release was probably a mistake, given that the marketing decision ultimately led to ill feelings on the part of many fans.

“The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront ‘This is who it is,'” said Abrams in a recent interview with MTV News. “It was only trying to preserve the fun of it, and it might have given more time to acclimate and accept that’s what the thing was.”

All of that said, Paramount is largely to blame for the shroud of secrecy surrounding the true identity of Benedict Cumberbatch’s big baddie, with the studio believing that the reveal would alienate more casual fans of the franchise.

“The truth is because it was so important to the studio that we not angle this thing for existing fans,” continued Abrams. “If we said it was Khan, it would feel like you’ve really got to know what ‘Star Trek’ is about to see this movie…That would have been limiting. I can understand their argument to try to keep that quiet, but I do wonder if it would have seemed a little bit less like an attempt at deception if we had just come out with it.”

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