Benicio Del Toro Drops Khan Recast After 'Star Trek' Deal Breakdown

Oscar-winning actor Benicio Del Toro seems to have turned down the main villain role in the next Star Trek movie, meaning that director J.J. Abrams will have to find someone else to play Khan.

It was reported last week that Del Toro was in negotiations for the role, and things seemed to be lining up pretty well for the Paramount film, as most of the cast was set. However, yesterday Vulture reported that negotiations had broken down between the Academy Award winning actor and the film studio.

It is rumored that money issues might have been the main roadblock in the deal, as the popular Latino actor has only done three movies in the last six years, and makes very careful decisions about which roles he takes on. His last three movies – “Things We Lost In The Fire,” “Che,” and “The Wolfman” have done fairly well, but it might be surprising for some Star Trek fans to hear that he was not offered a good enough incentive to play Khan, one of the most notorious villains in the sci-fi franchise.

Abrams had said that Del Toro would be the right man for the role, but now the search is on for a replacement, who will have some pretty big shoes to fill. The production team does not have that much time to find one either, as WhatCulture.com is reporting that shooting for the film begins next month. The sequel has already been delayed and the release date has been rescheduled from the summer 2012 to May 15, 2013. It is reported that Paramount will not be happy if they have to push it back again.

If the director has a few names in mind already, fans might find out in the next couple of weeks who the replacement actor for Khan is going to be.