‘Star Trek Beyond’: Idris Elba Teases Who He’s Playing

Since he was announced as appearing in next year’s Star Trek Beyond, fans have wondered just who Idris Elba would be playing. In a new video to promote the Star Trek Beyond Omaze campaign, Elba himself answered the question.

“Not to blow the plot, [but] I’m the new Captain Kirk,” he says, pushing Chris Pine — the actor who replaced William Shatner in the role with 2009’s reboot of the franchise — out of the way. “Did you not know that?” he adds, sarcastically.

OK, so it’s only a joke, but the video — the latest in a weekly series promoting the charity contest offering one fan the chance to get a walk-on role in the movie, with weekly winners chosen to be able to visit the set — plays on fan rumors that Elba could play a rival within Starfleet to Pine’s Starship Captain; the two pretend to step on each other’s lines.

Last month, Star Trek Beyond screenwriter Simon Pegg suggested that the reality would be something different, telling MTV that the movie won’t have “the same kind of villain with the same motivation” as 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, which featured a Starfleet turncoat in Peter Weller‘s Admiral Marcus.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Elba couldn’t end up in charge of the Enterprise nonetheless. After all, he does look very comfortable in that chair at the 0:50 mark …

Star Trek Beyond is scheduled for release July 8, 2016.

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