Star Trek Beyond Star Idris Elba Talks About Playing the Villain

Star Trek Beyond, the third film since the iconic sci-fi property rebooted in 2009, is currently in production. Idris Elba, star of Prometheus and The Wire, was confirmed as the film's villain back in July, and now the British actor has given some clues as to his role.

In an interview for MTV, Elba explained that the character broke new ground for him. "Simon [Pegg, who has co-written the film] and the team have written a very interesting, complex journey for my character," he said. "You've never seen me play a character like this. I think Star Trek has prided themselves as being quite classic when it comes to villains, like 'He's a guy who wants to end the world,' there's no doubt about that. But in this version of the film, there's a slightly different twist to that.

"It's quite an interesting journey, which I think is groundbreaking for the franchise. But, it still keeps with the 'classic bad guy is a classic bad guy' tone."

Last month, pictures leaked from the Vancouver production of Star Trek Beyond, showing actors Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, and Sofia Boutella on set.

The film is being directed by former Fast and Furious director Justin Lin, and also stars Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, and John Cho. It arrives in cinemas on July 22, 2016.