“Fast and Furious” director Justin Lin is officially taking “Star Trek” boldly where it’s never gone before, and part of that is bringing in entirely new villains.

Writer Simon Pegg already denied that Idris Elba would play a Klingon in the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond,” but fans remain skeptical over what happened on the previous film, “Star Trek Into Darkness.” For that movie, it was rumored Benedict Cumberbatch would play Khan, everyone denied it and … yeah … turns out he was Khan. D’oh!

So is Elba playing a Klingon? Well, director Lin finally shut down that noise once and for all to The Huffington Post.

“No, [Idris Elba] is not a Klingon,” says Lin with a laugh. “I think you know it’s been a great — ‘Trek’s’ been around for 50 years, Klingons are a big part of ‘Trek.’ When I signed on, I just felt like there was more to this than Klingons. I think there are other species we can explore, so I can safely tell you that there’s no Klingon to be had in this chapter.”

So what is happening in this “chapter”? Lin opened up to HuffPost about the new trailer that dropped on Monday, discussed the criticism over whether the new movie looks like “‘Fast and the Furious’ in space” and even gave his thoughts on a possible return to the “Fast” franchise.

What impression do you want people to take away from the trailer?

Well, it kind of leaked out a little early, but when I signed up to do “Trek” — obviously it’s been a big part of my life growing up. I think it’s a big part in whatever level for people around the world. I wanted to just channel the essence of what I love about “Trek,” about the exploration, about really going deep and pushing it.

We went through different versions, and I feel like [for] this one, at least tonally, we wanted to convey that we’re gonna be taking chances. It’s gonna be different. I hope it definitely conveys that.

What are you most excited to do with this movie that the others haven’t?

I really felt like it was important [that] if I was gonna be a part of “Trek,” especially the 50th anniversary, this idea of potentially dissecting and deconstructing the universe and deconstructing the franchise until that, hopefully, we can reaffirm why we love it so much.

A lot of people are saying it looks like “Fast and Furious” in space. What are your thoughts?

I made four “Fast” movies, and I think that it doesn’t surprise me that that’s the reaction, but I’m confident that I’m more than just “Fast and Furious” movies. When I was making the “Fast and Furious” movies, I wasn’t trying to make a “Fast and Furious” movie. I was trying to stay true to the characters and [figure out] how to potentially connect with the audience and build something that we can all enjoy and be proud of. And so it’s the same approach. I came from the indie world, and my approach has not changed in the 12 years I’ve been making movies. So I felt like the idea of “Trek,” when I took it on, it stayed on point. I feel like everything that we’re doing, the presentation of it again, it doesn’t surprise me that that’s where people go to, but at the same time, it’s part of my DNA, too, and I’m more than just “Fast and Furious.”

Why was it important to use “Sabotage” as the song?

I think, strategically, “How do you present any film initially to the audience?” For me, it was about taking elements that were organic to the film. So as we were developing the film, Kirk is obviously a huge component in “Trek,” and “Sabotage,” for me, in J.J.’s ’09 “Trek,” was part of that, so everything you see in the trailer is definitely part of the film.

We see the Enterprise get destroyed. Again. Why was that important to have?

The characters have obviously been around for 50 years, and they’re very special, and I really wanted to spend time with them and get to know them. And so I think that, for me, was kind of the seed that started it all. I think that we’ve seen the Enterprise get destroyed, but I think that this idea was to really see how we can deconstruct it on how many levels, so that was kind of impetus for me to start this film off.

What can you tell us about Idris Elba’s character?

The thing that I love about doing this movie was [that] everybody that came on, I felt like had to come on for the right reason, and Idris was on the top of my list. I wanted to work with him, so I really felt like it was important, as we were kind of crafting and developing and creating the character, and Idris was a big part of that. I had the best time working with him. He’s obviously very talented, and to be able to have someone of his caliber to work with and to build a character from — I love sitting and talking to him for hours about the character’s backstory, the philosophy and point of view, so I think that’s what we’re gonna get.

We know “Fast and Furious” is having its final trilogy. Would you go back for the final ride?

Obviously, “Fast” has been a big part of my life. I consider everybody on “Fast” my family, you know we grew up together. Our families are growing up together, and I get calls from Vin [Diesel], and we talk constantly. For me, it was about growth. And it’s about finding the right elements. As I’ve grown, it was not easy to leave the franchise, but I also felt like it was important that if I was ever going to come back, it was for the right reason. I had the best time, and I didn’t make those movies for anything except for the fact that those were the people I wanted to kind of grow with. That shared experience is something thats a big part of me. But I think you never say never, and we’re always talking, and if it lands right, it’s the right elements, it’s the right timing, I never close the door on anything, especially [something] that’s a big part of me.

Image: MTV

Dom Toretto or Captain Kirk, who do you pick to be the driver?

[Laughs.] Man, you’re giving me these loaded questions here. Well, it depends what they’re driving, I would come back with.

Do you really think Vin Diesel would beat The Rock in a fight?

[Laughs.] Are you talking about Vin Diesel the human being or Dom Toretto?

Vin Diesel, the human.

I think, with any kind of fight, it depends on the motivation. What’s behind it? And I think that — on any given day, with the right motivation — I think it could go either way.

Yeah, totally … either way …

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