‘Carlos’ Star Édgar Ramírez Is ‘Star Trek’ Sequel Villain Front-Runner
The casting forJ.J. Abrams’Star Treksequel is going strong, withPeter WellerandAlice Evebeing the high-profile additions of late.Benicio Del Torowassaidto have a lock on the key villain role (possibly Khan) but ended uppassing on the partlast week.
The combination of interest in Del Toro and the rumor of Khan as villain — originally played by Ricardo Montalban — led some to wonder if Del Toro’s replacement would be another Latin actor. That seems to be the case, as the latest report is that Venezuelan actorÉdgar Ramírez, so very good in the Olivier Assayas miniseriesCarlos, is the current front-runner for the role.
Varietysays that Ramírez has the best odds of being offered the part, withJordi Molla(Colombiana) also a possibility. Ramírez will do a sort of screen test via Skype (isn’t technology great?) within the next day or so, and a decision is expected to be made by the weekend. It isn’t a small commitment, as whoever takes the role would be occupied from January to June.
You might remember Édgar Ramírez fromChe,Domino,The Bourne Ultimatumand/or other films, but I expect this casting opportunity is strongly influenced by his work inCarlos. If you haven’t seen that, by all means have a look at the full mini-series. (It’s streaming on Netflix.) He’s magnificent in the central role, and I’m far more excited about the possibility of him playing the Trek bad guy than I was Del Toro. (Assuming, that is, that the role is a meatier one than the part handed to Eric Bana in the lastTrekfilm.)
Before theStar Treksequel hits, we’ll have a chance to see Édgar Ramírez inWrath of the Titans, in which he plays Ares.
