Paramount+ has shared a first look at the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 starring Michelle Yeoh.
The image, released as part of Variety‘s in-depth profile on the future of the Star Trek franchise, shows the Mirror Universe’s Philippa Georgiou whispering into an undisclosed character’s ear. Yeoh is returning to the role of Georgiou for Section 31 after previously playing the character across the first three seasons of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Discovery.
Section 31 was almost a television series
Star Trek: Section 31 was initially announced in January 2019 as a Discovery spinoff series focusing on Section 31, with Alex Kurtzman attached as an executive producer and Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt on board as showrunners. However, after four years in development, Paramount+ announced that Section 31 had been redeveloped as a feature-length film to accommodate Yeoh’s busy schedule.
Production on Section 31 took place in Toronto, Canada, from January to March 2024, with Olatunde Osunsanmi directing from a screenplay written by Craig Sweeny. While plot details remain under wraps, Sweeney shared with Variety that the movie will “deliver an entertaining experience that is true to the universe but appeals to newcomers,” explaining that he “wanted a low barrier of entry so that anybody could enjoy it.”
Unlike most Star Trek projects, Kurtzman revealed that Section 31 will focus on those “who don’t quite fit in,” allowing for the movie to explore “the people who were at the edges, out in the field. These are not people who necessarily work together the way you would see on a Star Trek bridge.”
Who else stars in Section 31?
Besides Yeoh, the cast for Star Trek: Section 31 includes Omari Hardwick, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao. Kacey Rohl has also joined the project as a young Rachel Garrett, the future captain of the USS Enterprise-C. An older version of the character previously appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation, portrayed by Tricia O’Neil.
Star Trek: Section 31 has not yet received a release date, but will stream exclusively on Paramount+.