'Star Trek Into Darkness' TV Clip: Kirk Takes Center Stage

When the Star Trek Into Darkness marketing campaign began in earnest late last year with a much-discussed teaser trailer, the debate was all about the villain:  Benedict Cumberbatch's icy voiceover and acrobatic evildoing led to lots of theorizing that his mysterious character was Khan, Robert April and other Star Trek canon creeps. Four months later, with the release of the J.J. Abrams-directed film a little over a month away, a TV clip that debuted on Sunday continued to shift the spotlight from bad guy to good: Captain James T. Kirk. 

Actually, the transition began with the Star Trek Into Darkness international trailer that hit the web in late March. Although Cumberbatch's character is prominent (and vicious) in the clip, Chris Pine's Kirk emerges as the guy who's going to break a lot of rules and sacrifice however many Starship Enterprise extras he needs to top Benny's reign of terror.

You can watch the transition via the embeds below:

First Teaser Trailer

Star Trek International Trailer

The latest TV Clip:

The key dialogue in that last clip begins with Kirk's superior officer Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood)  telling him: "Do you have any idea what a pain in the ass you are?"  then, later, adding: "But there's greatness in you, Jim."

Okay, so it's no surprise that the central conflict of STID is Kirk vs. Cumberbatch. Rather, it's...marketing. As the clock ticks down to STID's release date, it's a way of preparing moviegoers who aren't Star Trek geeks for what to expect at their local cineplex come May 16.

What remains to be seen is whether future clips will put the emphasis on any other supporting characters, such as Spock, in the weeks to come.

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