Last month, we brought you the news when negotiations with Benicio Del Toro to join the cast of the as yet Untitled Star Trek Sequel fell apart, and reports stated that Edgar Ramirez (Wrath of the Titans) and Jordi Molla (Columbiana) were being eyed to portray the villain in the follow-up to director J.J. Abrams‘ 2009 blockbuster.

Now, Variety reports that Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) who is portraying Smaug and The Necromancer in director Peter Jackson’s forthcoming film The Hobbit: There and Back Again, has scored the villainous role that Ramirez had auditioned for in December. In addition, the trade also states that Noel Clarke (Doctor Who) has joined the cast of the highly anticipated sequel as ““a family man with a wife and young daughter“.

The as yet Untitled Star Trek Sequel is slated to hit theaters on May 17th, 2013.