The Romulans went years and years without being seen in the Star Trek universe. After the Earth-Romulan War almost a century went by before they were seen, which made for a great plot device in the original Star Trek episode “Balance of Terror.” Forget continuity, however. The Romulans are rumored to be the bad guys for the upcoming J.J. Abrams movie regardless of whether they had been seen before or not in Kirk’s time, which is when the movie was set. Doesn’t matter, Abrams’ Star Trek movie is supposed to be a time travel story anyway, so just about everything is irrelevant.

So, if the Romulans had never been seen before, who’s to say they always had the bowl haircuts like the Vulcans? Instead it looks like we’re getting one of the long-haired Riders of Rohan as the Romulan leader – the same guy who more recently played a long haired Indian/Viking in the horrible Pathfinder. Yes, that’s right. According to IESB, Karl Urban is the name being tossed around to play the leader of the Romulans. Take that Kirk – a better looking villain than you!

I’m not even going to try and get into the plot complications and rumors going around right now. I think it’s enough to say the Romulans are reportedly the bad guys and Urban is reportedly being considered or in talks to take the role of the primary antagonist. Instead of Malcolm McDowell, it could be Urban that is truly the man who kills Kirk. I’m not sure how I feel about that. All of this is rumor and speculation anyway, so I’m not going to worry too much until we get some more solid support.