Idris Elba is in talks to play the villain in 'Star Trek 3'.

The 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' actor is in early talks for a role in the latest installment of the sci-fi franchise, Variety reports.

Little is yet known about the 2016 movie - which will have a script written by Doug Jung and Simon Pegg - but it has been rumoured the Klingons will be the main villains as they have not had a full presence in previous installments.

The movie is to be directed by Justin Lin after Roberto Orci relinquished the role but opted to stay on as a producer of the film.

The move came after Lin's planned 'Bourne Legacy' sequel starring Jeremy Renner was delayed to allow Matt Damon to return to the Bourne franchise.

And it's been confirmed he'll turn his attentions to 'Star Trek' once he has finished working on season two of the US crime drama series 'True Detective'.

If Elba does sign up for the movie, he is expected to work with returning cast members Pegg, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Karl Urban.

Elba has just signed on to star in revenge thriller 'The Trap' and recently completed work on 'Beasts of No Nation', 'A Hundred Streets', Bastille Day' and 'The Jungle Book'.

He can currently be seen on screen in 'The Gunman' and will then appear in 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron'.