J.J. Abrams is apologizing for another aspect of Star Trek Into Darkness. In October, he copped to using too much lens flare, and now admits that withholding the true identity of Benedict Cumberbath's character didn't help (even if virtually everyone knew he was playing Khan).

"The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront 'This is who it is,'" Abrams told MTV. "It was only trying to preserve the fun of it, and it might have given more time to acclimate and accept that's what the thing was."

The director laid some of the blame for the secrecy on Paramount Pictures. According to Abrams, the studio wanted to make sure not to alienate moviegoers who aren't well-versed in Trek lore.

"The truth is because it was so important to the studio that we not angle this thing for existing fans," he said. "If we said it was Khan, it would feel like you've really got to know what Star Trek is about to see this movie. That would have been limiting. I can understand their argument to try to keep that quiet, but I do wonder if it would have seemed a little bit less like an attempt at deception if we had just come out with it."

Abrams also took a few moments to comment on rumors that Attack the Block helmer Joe Cornish might direct Star Trek 3, which Abrams is producing.

"I don't know if Joe Cornish is the guy," he said. "My guess is that's up in the air. I adore him and love him and can't wait to see what he does next. Hopefully it will be Star Trek. Whatever it is, he's brilliant. Attack the Block was one of my favorite movies of the year when it came out."