Section 31 is officially underway!
Paramount+ has announced that production has started on Star Trek: Section 31, a movie in which Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh reprises her Discovery role of Emperor Philippa Georgiou. She joins a secret division of Starfleet. She’s tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets while also facing the sins of her past. Check out a photo of Yeoh on set above.
The streaming service also announced that Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao have joined the cast of the film. Character details have yet to be released.
“And we’re off to the races! Thrilled to report principal photography has started on Star Trek: Section 31,” executive producer Alex Kurtzman said in a statement. “We welcome our incredible cast of new characters as they join our beloved Michelle Yeoh on her next wild adventure across the Trek universe.”
Section 31 was originally in development as a series (in January 2019), with the movie greenlit in April 2023. “I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” Yeoh said at the time. “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)!”
We last saw Yeoh on Star Trek: Discovery in Season 3 as she left behind Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) for the unknown. She knew there were “more stories to tell” with her character at the time, and she told TV Insider, “I don’t want her ever to lose all the edge that she has because Emperor Georgiou, Philippa Georgiou, especially this Terran Georgiou has a purity of honesty that is important, but at the same time, she has learned compassion and humanity along the way and a realization that you can’t rule by fear itself. It will not work. Maybe in the short term, but not in the long run.”
Star Trek: Section 31 is written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. Joining Kurtzman, Yeoh, Sweeny, and Osunsanmi as executive producers are Aaron Baiers, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth. The film is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.
Star Trek: Section 31, Movie Premiere, TBA, Paramount+