Up until today, the marketing for Star Trek Beyond has assiduously avoided any spoilers about the true nature of Krall (Idris Elba) or his villainous plans. The absence of concrete details on the villain’s motivation seemed to point to a distressing lack of plot depth in Star Trek Beyond. Perhaps Krall is only shown as a snarling alien bad guy because that’s all he is in Beyond. Well, that misimpression is corrected in a new TV spot for Star Trek Beyond thatcompletely spoils the movie’s big twist. Why they decided on this drastic course of action is a mystery, but here we are.
Seriously, don’t watch this TV spot. It ruins a huge plot twist from Star Trek Beyond.
Why the hell would Paramount blow the reveal of Krall’s origin in a TV commercial like this? Perhaps this summer — littered with the corpses of flopping franchise entries — is to blame. Or maybe it’s just Idris Elba’s beautiful face; they want every ounce of star power obvious for potential ticket-buyers on the fence. Who knows.
Whatever the reason, we now know: Krall is not an alien, but a human. Perhaps his ship crashed there years ago and he’s angry that the Federation never came to rescue him. Or maybe he’s backed by weirdo alien genetic engineers, who twisted his human visage into the alien face we’ve come to associate with Krall.
To learn the exact boundaries of the twist you’ll have to catch Star Trek Beyond, which is out in theaters on July 22. It’s just a bummer your first viewing may well have this giant spoiler looming over it.
