Earlier this week, we reported that actor Benicio Del Toro dropped out of Star Trek 2, and it seems his replacement may be locked up sooner rather than later. Édgar Ramírez (Carlos) is the front runner to win the villain role, with Jordi Mollà (Colombiana) also in contention.

Director J.J. Abrams is expected to make a decision before the weekend, since he is rapidly approaching the January 15 production start date. Édgar Ramírez is believed to test for the role via Skype either later today or tomorrow. It is said the sequel will shoot from January until June. Star Trek cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin are expected to return for Star Trek 2.

J.J. Abrams is directing Star Trek 2 from a screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. Our report from a few days ago revealed the villain in Star Trek 2 is Khan, although that has not been officially confirmed yet.