Did Benedict Cumberbatch Duck Star Wars Question During the Trek Press Junket?

During the press tour for Star Trek Into Darkness, the film’s villain–Benedict Cumberbatch, then still nursing the anonymity of his character in the film–was used to keeping things quiet. It is, then, perhaps not surprising that when a bunch of stars from the film were asked what they thought about the prospect of starring in Star Wars Episode VII–set to be directed by Star Trek rebooter J.J. Abrams–he’s one of the only ones who didn’t answer a clear “yes” or “no” when it came to the idea of taking a role if it were offered.Instead, he joked about being “in talks” with Abrams to play a lightsaber in the film, and otherwise didn’t really address the question. That seemed like just a guy having some fun with a dumb question from reporters at the time–but now that he’s rumored to be in the movie, it seems equally possible he was avoiding the question.”I’ve already asked him if I can be a lightsaber and we’re in talks – about whirring sounds and the rates for the lights and everything,” Cumerbatch said at the time. “I thought, ‘Yeah, I grew up with them,’ and I just looked recently at when they were released and now I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t grow up with them, I was born with them.’ They were a huge part of my background, and my upbringing. I was much more connected to [Star Wars] as a kid, in the way that a lot of kids are because it’s immediate storytelling, very simple – a beautifully, outrageously simple narrative in a way – and a wonderful three-act melodrama, opera. And I loved them. I really, really loved those films and I always wanted to be Han Solo. Everything Harrison Ford did I just thought was the coolest thing ever – Raiders Of The Lost Ark was very much my upbringing as well.”