The Interwebs are all abuzz about Star Trek Into Darkness with the online release of a short teaser trailer and a nine-minute preview set to debut in theaters ahead of The Hobbit next week. The biggest point of discussion: What iconic Trek villain is being portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch?

Over at io9, Charlie Jane Anders has dissected the trailer looking for clues as to the identity of the Cumberbatch character as well as other hints that might reveal the movie’s plot.

Speculation was rampant that genetically-modified superman Khan would return ever since the movie went into production. But given what’s been shown in the limited clips and stills released so far, it’s unlikely.

And that’s a good thing, otherwise this Trekker would be forced to boycott this film. While I was pleasantly surprised by J.J Abrahm’s rebooted Star Trek, it was more style than substance, and every time I rewatch it, I find another element that irritates me. I will concede it’s a good start, but I have high expectations for its sequel. I want some depth and some compelling ideas, two ingredients that are essential to a great Star Trek story.

I also think the whole point of rebooting the Star Trek franchise is to tell new stories, and no matter what spin is put on a Khan-centric story, it will inevitably be compared to The Wrath Khan, arguably the best Star Trek film.

It’s been reported that the villain in Into Darkness is a character Star Trek fans will be familiar with, and based on what I’ve seen, Gary Mitchell, seen in the second original series pilot “Where No Man Has Gone Before” is the best bet, given that Cumberbatch is seen wearing a Starfleet uniform. While Garth of Izar from the original third season episode “Whom Gods Destroy” has also been mentioned as a possibility, I think he’s a little obscure. Considering Alice Eve‘s unnamed Into Darkness character looks a lot like Sally Kellerman‘s character Elizabeth Dehner from “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, the Mitchell theory has a lot of legs.

And I’m okay with that. For one thing, it’s plausible he would have exist in the rebooted timeline and have crossed paths with Kirk during their Starfleet Academy days. That doesn’t mean he has to become the silver-eyed God as he did the original series: he could be driven off the deep end by a different set of circumstances, hopefully something with emotional resonance rather than by some abstract alien force.

As for the trailer, it was full of sound and fury, but there wasn’t much to distinguish it from any other action/sci-fi movie. Abrahms has said he wants to bring a Star Wars sensibility to Star Trek and this worries me as much as the possibility of Khan popping up. The whole point of Star Trek is that it’s not Star Wars.

While I may be completely off-base with my predictions and concerns, one thing is for sure: There will be lots of lens flare.

Gary Hilson is a Toronto-based writer and content strategist. He also does a mean fox trot.