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‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ poster is familiar-looking but revealing

Star Trek Into Darkness
Star Trek Into Darkness

Welcome to the unveiling of the first poster for the highly anticipated "Star Trek" sequel, "Star Trek Into Darkness." Or, as we now like to call it, "[Whatever Villain Benedict Cumberbatch is Playing] Rises."

The new "Star Trek" film looks to have been directed by Christopher Nolan, as the poster brings back more than a few memories of the one-sheet for this summer's "The Dark Knight Rises" (and the one for Nolan's "Inception," at that) -- the saturated colors of blue, black, grey and white, the lone semi-silhouetted figure standing before some ruined cityscape, the fractured outline of which forms a significant symbol -- in this case, the Starfleet insignia. All it's missing is some ominous yet vaguely nonsensical tagline like "The Legend Ends" (how does a legend "end," exactly? But we digress...)

[Photos: 2012 Best and Worst Movie Posters]

The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises

Even though it looks more like another bad day in Gotham than a new "Trek" adventure, the poster does shed some light on some plot points of the still highly secretive film. We now know according to the film's synopsis that some sort of city is going to, well, crumble, and one on Earth, at that. That could be London's The Gherkin on the right there, or we could be looking at what remains of a futuristic San Francisco, a familiar "Star Trek" location.

The poster also gives us a look at the man whom it's probably safe to say is responsible for this mess -- we assume that's Benedict Cumberbatch who's gravely accessing the devastation, his villainous trenchcoat blowing in the dust-filled wind. The figure's dark hair and coat seem to match the first set photos spotted in February that showed Cumberbatch fighting Spock and Uhura.

[Related: First set photos from the 'Star Trek' sequel]

Cumberbatch broke out in movies last year with appearances in the Oscar-nominated films "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and "War Horse," but he's best known for playing the title character in the BBC's modern-day "Sherlock" series. We still have no confirmation as to what bad-guy character he's playing, though the costume -- and the poster's scenario -- definitely provides more fuel to the theory that he's playing Gary Mitchell, Kirk's former Starfleet pal who gained superpowers and went crazy in the original series episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (you can watch that entire episode on Netflix).

Anyway, the poster's imagery all seems to be in line with the film's recently released official synopsis, which says "When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis."

Looking at backs in the posters for 'The Dark Knight,' 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight Rises'
Looking at backs in the posters for 'The Dark Knight,' 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight Rises'

It's also, in true J.J. Abrams style, all still frustratingly vague. And any and all "Trek" teasers will probably continue to follow suit all the way up to the theatrical release of "Star Trek Into Darkness" on May 17, 2013 … though we'll at least get an idea of what the new film looks like when the first nine minutes are screened before IMAX presentations of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," opening December 14.

Watch the trailer for the last 'Star Trek':