‘Star Trek Beyond’ Reveals New Look at Idris Elba‘s Big Bad Villain

We briefly glimpsed the new Star Trek Beyond villain in the film’s first trailer, but Idris Elba’s big bad hasn’t appeared in the few images Paramount has released to promote Justin Lin’s upcoming sequel. Lucky for us, the latest official photo features Elba’s Krall, a completely new Trek character created specifically for the film, and as the actor explains, one who’s got a bone to pick with the crew of the Enterprise — obviously.

In addition to revealing a new look at Elba’s villain, EW sat down with the actor to discuss his role in Star Trek Beyond. First, here’s that photo:

Krall cuts a rather imposing figure, featured in the photo above with Karl Urban’s Bones — with Elba looking like he might break a few.

But aside from being a wholly original creation, what makes Krall so special in the world of Trek? Elba explains:

What’s interesting about him is that he has a real beef with what the Enterprise stands for. Krall’s a character who’s deeply steeped in hatred — in my opinion, a well-earned hatred — for the Federation. It felt quite political. There’s a relatability to what’s happening in our world. Not everybody’s happy with what everybody calls the good guys.

That reiterates what we’d previously heard about the sequel, which will explore how not every civilization is grateful for or improved by the Enterprise crew’s heroic missions. The trailer also teased this idea with the line, “The frontier pushes back,” an overt nod to the narration in the opening title sequence of the original Trek TV series.

As for how Elba compares to some of the franchise’s iconic villains, the actor says:

Krall is predatory. He’s not one for big speeches. He is one for going to get what he wants. If that means having to do it himself, outside of his army, he is not afraid to do that.

It’s not the only predatory role Elba plays in a film this year, as he also lent his voice to Shere Khan, the villainous tiger in Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book.

Based on a screenplay by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, Star Trek Beyond’s returning cast includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho and Karl Urban, with Kingsman: The Secret Service star Sofia Boutella in a new supporting role. The film arrives on July 22.