Michelle Yeoh is officially coming back to the Star Trek universe.
On Tuesday, April 18th, Paramount+ announced that it has officially greenlit Star Trek: Section 31 starring Yeoh in the lead role. Talks about the project started five years ago. Originally envisioned as a spinoff series, Star Trek: Section 31 is now billed as a special movie event and will be the first-ever, straight-to-streaming film of the beloved sci-fi franchise.
What is Star Trek: Section 31 about?
Michelle Yeoh made her Star Trek debut appearance in season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery as Philippa Georgiou, a celebrated Starfleet Academy graduate and the respected Captain of the U.S.S. Shenzhou, Although Captain Georgiou died in a confrontation with Klingons later that season, Yeoh reappeared in the show as Emperor Philippa Georgiou. A Mirror universe version of Captain Georgiou, Emperor Georgiou is an Emperor of the Terran Empire who ended up being transported back to the Prime Universe of the U.S.S. Discovery.
After serving as a compelling antihero, Emperor Georgiou, who is both from the past and from a mirror universe, was sent back to her original time period in season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery for her own safety.
In Star Trek: Section 31, Emperor Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past.
“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” Yeoh said in a statement. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”
Since Emperor Georgiou originated from Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Section 31 is a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, which is set to end with its upcoming fifth and final season.
Who is behind Star Trek: Section 31?
Produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, Star Trek: Section 31 is written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi.
In addition to starring in the spinoff, Michele Yeoh also serves as an executive producer, along with Sweeny, Osunsanmi, Aaron Baiers, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, and Alex Kurtzman.
In a statement, Kurtzman revealed that Yeoh had been pushing for a spinoff focusing on her Star Trek character even before Star Trek: Discovery debuted.
“All the way back in 2017, before the first season of Star Trek: Discovery had even aired, Michelle had the idea to do a spin-off for her character, Philippa Georgiou,” Kurtzman said of Yeoh, who just won an Oscar for her performance in the 2022 movie Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Kurtzman continued: “She broke new ground as one of the first two women on screen in the pilot to usher in a new age of Trek, and now, six years later, Star Trek: Section 31 finally arrives on the heels of her latest groundbreaking win. Everyone on Team Trek couldn’t be more thrilled to have our legendary friend return home to us as we expand our storytelling into new and uncharted corners of the Trekverse. Long live Emperor Georgiou; long live Michelle Yeoh!”
Star Trek: Section 31 release date
Star Trek: Section 31 doesn’t a release date yet. But production for the movie is slated to begin later this year.
Is Starfleet Intelligence Section 31?
No, Starfleet Intelligence is not Section 31. But Section 31 is a division of Starfleet Intelligence, a branch of Starfleet responsible for gathering and analyzing information concerning neighboring powers in the galaxy, and for carrying out covert investigations regarding possible threats to Earth and, later, the United Federation of Planets.
During the mid-23rd century, Section 31 was considered one of the critical divisions of Starfleet Intelligence. But by the 24th century, Section 31 was widely believed to be a rogue organization not considered part of the Federation. In reality, however, Secret 31 was in fact still part of Starfleet Intelligence.
Why is it called Section 31?
First introduced in the 1990s in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series, Section 31 got its name from the fictional Starfleet Charter: Article 14, Section 31.
What is Article 14, Section 31 of the Federation Charter?
According to Section 31 agents, Article 14, Section 31 of the Federation Charter allowed for extraordinary measures to be taken in times of extreme threat. Those measures included malicious sabotage of enemy installations and technology, biological warfare, and preemptive assassination.
Who are the members of Section 31 in Star Trek?
The following are the Section 31 members that have been introduced in Star Trek:
- Luther Sloan (William Sadler) from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) from Star Trek: Enterprise
- Harris (Eric Pierpoint) from Star Trek: Enterprise
- Thomas Harewood (Noel Clarke) from Star Trek Into Darkness
- John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) from Star Trek Into Darkness
- Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) from Star Trek Into Darkness
- Ash Tyler / Voq (Shazad Latif) from Star Trek: Discovery
- Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) from Star Trek: Discovery
- Katrina Cornwell (Jayne Brook) from Star Trek: Discovery
- Leland / Control (Alan van Sprang) from Star Trek: Discovery
- Patar (Tara Nicodemo) from Star Trek: Discovery
- Gabrielle Burnham / Red Angel (Sonja Sohn) from Star Trek: Discovery
- William Boimler (transporter duplicate) from Star Trek: Lower Decks
Did Section 31 create the Borg?
The origin of the Borg has been the subject of debate among Trekkies, but there’s a theory that suggests that Section 31 created the Borg. Hatched during Star Trek: Discovery season 2, the theory proposes that Section 31 agent Leland — who merged with the synthetic components of Control — becomes the first “proto-Borg” and uses the Red Angel suit to travel back in time to the Delta Quadrant and lay the foundation for the Borg Collective.
