After months of speculation about Idris Elba's role in "Star Trek Beyond," fans finally got their first look at the mystery villain, who declares," This is where it begins, Captain. This is where the frontier pushes back!" And now we have a name and motivation to attach to that face.

Talking with Slashfilm, director Justin Lin reveals the alien antagonist is Krall, who's from a “new species that we discover in this chapter," and not connected to any previous "Star Trek" canon. (Sorry, die-hards, but you can cross Gorn off your list of theories.)

"When [Idris] came in, he had a lot of [prospective] projects, and when I talked to him about this character, it wasn’t about this or that it was about building or having a philosophy or point of view," Lin says. "And I like his character because his character is really challenging the way of the Federation’s philosophy and there are a lot of things that when I was growing up I wanted to see."

Adding that Krall "has a very distinct philosophy," the filmmaker offers a little insight into the plot "Star Trek Beyond," which the trailer paints only in the broadest of strokes.

"It was just really embracing the idea that the Federation," he says, "what would happen if you were going on a five-year journey and you’re trying to also not only explore, but also maybe introduce other people to this way of thinking. What would that mean? What are the consequences to that? I mean, spreading a philosophy that you believe in that you think is great, are there gonna be any other points of views that’s gonna counter you? And I think that those are the things that I thought of as a kid. And also then as an adult when I watch 'Star Trek.' And I think we got to kind of explore that a little bit."

Opening July 22, "Star Trek Beyond" also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg and Sofia Boutella.