Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek Movie Will Have An All-New Crew
The cast is new to the final frontier. But what time period are we in?
The emperor of the galaxy is back! Later in 2024, Michelle Yeoh will return to the Star Trek universe as Philippa Georgiou, the former ruler of the Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire, who eventually became the anti-hero of Star Trek: Discovery. Now, in the direct-to-streaming Section 31 movie, Yeoh will star in a unique Star Trek story. As the title suggests, the film will be about Starfleet’s clandestine Section 31, which does the Federation’s dirty work.
But what time period of Trek canon does Section 31 take place in? And who are all these new faces? A new announcement from Paramount+ and CBS Studios reveals that the crew backing up Michelle Yeoh is brand new, which has some intriguing implications.
Originally announced as a Discovery spin-off series in 2019, Section 31 is a movie set somewhere in the Star Trek universe. According to a new press release, Section 31 will be about Georgiou, “who joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she also must face the sins of her past.”
Beyond that, we have no idea what the plot of Section 31 is, or when on the timeline it’s set. But we may have some clues based on Georgiou’s history with the organization.
Georgiou previously joined Section 31 in Discovery Season 2.
For Discovery fans, Georgiou joining Section 31 might feel like old hat. In Discovery Season 2, Georgiou worked for Section 31 in the 23rd century. But then, in Season 3, she and the rest of the crew was hurled into the 32nd century. From there, all of Georgiou’s universe and time-skipping literally tore her apart, so the Guardian of Forever sent her back... somewhere. Presumably, wherever and whenever Georgiou would up will constitute Section 31’s setting. Sure, Georgiou will be working for the Space CIA again, but in what era of Trek?
Because the United Federation of Planets is mentioned, that suggests she won’t be working for Section 31 in the Enterprise era, because that would be before the Federation existed. Then again, if this version of Section 31 has access to time travel, she could be protecting the Federation in a non-linear way. While there’s talk of a new Star Trek feature film being an “origin” story, it’s possible Georgiou’s status as both a time and multiverse traveler could put her in all sorts of in-between Trek periods we’ve never seen before. Section 31 could even put her in a new universe. Again.
In addition to the announcement that Section 31 has started filming, it was also revealed that the folks joining Georgiou are all new to the Trek universe. Though we don’t have character names yet, Yeoh’s co-stars will include Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao.
Because none of them have visited the final frontier before, that implies Section 31 will either take place in a new time period, or on a ship or station with people we’ve never seen before. This doesn’t mean Georgiou can’t crossover with any existing Star Trek timelines, but this sea of new faces certainly suggests she’s on a brand new quest. We’ll have to wait a while to see just what that quest involves.
Section 31 is expected to stream on Paramount+ in late 2024.
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