Star Trek Into Darkness teaser poster revealed

Star Trek Into Darkness has unveiled some brand new teaser artwork, which you can see right here.

It's been a bit quiet on the Into Darkness front of late, with news of a nine-minute prologue playing in front of The Hobbit the biggest revelation we've had in months.

It's a relief to see the new poster, which puts Benedict Cumberbatch's villain at the centre of some very iconically shaped destruction. There's more than a hint of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy to this one.

Check it out now:

[ Click on the poster to see it in hi-res ]

The poster also kicks off the countdown to the first trailer, which is set to arrive imminently.

And any lucky folk who are catching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in IMAX, will get to see that nine-minute preview on a ginormous screen.

Director J.J. Abrams has played his cards extremely close to his chest when it comes to the sequel to the 2009 prequel/reboot that completely re-invigorated the franchise.

Plot details are sparse, but we do know from the official synopsis that the Enterprise crew will face "a one man weapon of mass destruction" before being propelled into "an epic chess game of life and death".

Newcomers Cumberbatch, Alice Eve and Noel Clarke join returning cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg and Karl Urban. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in the UK on 17 May 2013.