First he cancelled the apocalypse, now Idris Elba might boldly go to the Star Trek franchise as the next film’s heavy. Variety is reporting that the Pacific Rim actor is in talks to join Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin in Star Trek 3, to be directed by Fast & Furious franchise MVP Justin Lin.
The role is currently unspecified, but that won’t stop fanboys from speculating all over the interwebs. Variety throws out their own thoughts below that suggest Star Trek 3 may be Klingon-centric:
“Early rumors suggest that Klingons would be the main villains in this movie, as they have not had a full presence in previous installments, but sources would not confirm if that was the case. Paramount and Skydance had no comment.”
Hopefully Paramount has learned from the Star Trek Into Darkness Cumberbatch/Khan debacle and won’t try to keep the role a secret for too long once it’s cast. Elba is one of the most charismatic and talented actors working right now, but still hasn’t quite gotten the big Hollywood push yet. His starring role in BBC’s Luther has earned much critical and fan support, and Pacific Rim and Thor got him a higher profile, but perhaps Star Trek 3 will be the film that launches him fully onto the A-list.
Star Trek 3 opens July 8th, 2016.