Simon Pegg says ‘Star Trek 2’ villain is not Khan

The legacy of Khan thirty years later couldn’t be greater as the filmmakers and cast of “Star Trek 2” have to fend off rumors that Khan is returning next summer. Simon Pegg is the latest cast member to attempt to squash those murmors.

In an interview with the Telegraph, the “Shaun of the Dead” star was pretty direct.

“It’s not Khan. That’s a myth. Everyone’s saying it is, but it’s not. I think people just want to have a scoop. It annoys me – it’s beyond the point to just ferret around for spoilers all the time to try to be the first to break them.”

When Benicio Del Toro was in negotiations for the “Star Trek 2” villain role, a report surfaced that claimed to confirm that he would be playing Khan, which was then followed up by a swift denial from Abrams himself calling the story “not true.”

The rumor mill continued when Del Toro left the project and a crop of Hispanic actors were in the mix to take over a role that was originated by a Hispanic actor (Ricardo Montalbon).  The immensely talented Benedict Cumberbatch eventually landed the role, and as recently as late April another report surfaced “confirming” that Cumberbatch is playing Khan.

Pegg is excited about the film, now with the introductions aside.

“This time we had the benefit of being able to hit the ground running – we spent some time in the first one re-establishing the characters. Now we have a fully set-up group of people that we can just get on with straight away. So it ups the ante slightly, and we’ve all had more to do. So it’s totally incumbent on us to not drop the ball. It would be a disaster if it wasn’t as good as – or better than – the first one.”

The “Paul” star confirms a lot more screen time for Scotty.

“He’s in it from the beginning. In the last one I was the last member of the crew to be ‘discovered’ and brought in. So in this one, we’re all together from the top.”

“Star Trek 2” will finally land in theaters on May 17, 2013.