This Friday, Paramount Pictures will reveal the first nine minutes of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness before select IMAX showings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Read the full list of participating theaters by clicking here). Today, ComingSoon.net was afforded the rare opportunity of visiting Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and talking with some of the talent behind next summer's much anticipated release. We'll have a lot more from the visit posted soon, but one mystery was officially revealed: Alice Eve's role is that of Carol Marcus.

Marcus, played by Bibi Besch in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, was, in the original timeline, a Federation scientist whose work led to the top-secret "Project Genesis." She had a relationship with James T. Kirk and became mother to his son, David, but the pair ultimately decided that it was best for her to raise the boy alone.

As to how closely Star Trek Into Darkness will mirror the original canon remains to be seen, although Bad Robot's nonchalant reveal of the Marcus role suggests that no major spoilers should be inferred from the character's identity.

Also starring Chris Pine, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Benedict Cumberbatch and Peter Weller, Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters everywhere on May 17, 2013.