An article celebrating the longevity of the Star Trek franchise has given us our first look at Michelle Yeoh’s upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 film — as well as a major spoiler revealing a familiar character we’ll see in the production.
The Variety article examines Star Trek’s long-standing place in the world of entertainment and covers the beginning of The Original Series right through future productions — Section 31, and its first young-adult series, Starfleet Academy.
First look at Section 31
The shot from Section 31 shows Yeoh as her fan-favorite character from Star Trek: Discovery, the Mirror Universe Philippa Georgiou, who has been recruited into the spy agency known as Section 31. She is completely in black attire and whispering into the ear of some tech-augmented person.
No context for this shot was described in the article, but what was mentioned was a character the author, Adam B. Vary, was shocked to see on set: Rachel Garrett, played by Kacey Rohl in Section 31. Garrett originally appeared in the Star Trek: Next Generation third season episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” as the captain of the ill-fated Enterprise-C. The author notes, “The enormity of the revelation that Garrett is being brought back is meant only for fans. If you don’t know who the character is, you’re not missing anything.”
No other details were provided for Section 31, but we can assume the show takes place in the 2300s, as Garrett was an adult by 2344.
(Eagle-eyed viewers of Star Trek: Picard’s “The Last Generation” would have spotted a statue of Garrett on M’talas Prime.)
More details
The Variety piece contains quite a few notable quotes and notes related to the Star Trek franchise. Some highlights include:
- Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes claims an episode he has directed for Strange New Worlds’ upcoming third season is a “Hollywood murder mystery” and the “best episode of television” he’s ever done.
- Yeoh says she’s down for a sequel to Section 31 should the upcoming movie be successful.
- Star Trek franchise head Alex Kurtzman is “eying more opportunities” for TV movies, including a follow-up to Picard.
- Theatrical movies – yes, plural – are still in their early stages. One, a “final chapter” for the Star Trek (2009) cast, and two, an “origin story of sorts for the main timeline of the entire franchise” from Seth Grahame-Smith, known for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
- We were amused by this: The Star Trek tradition of reusing sets and props is alive and well. As Vary notes, “I lost count of the number of times someone made a point to note, with real pride, how one or the other of the Star Trek TV productions is saving money, whether it be Section 31 repurposing sets from Discovery, or Strange New Worlds redressing the same set to be everything from crew quarters to a sparring gym.”
- The upcoming Starfleet Academy, which will begin production this summer, will use the largest single set ever created for Star Trek on TV – a 45,900-square-foot soundstage that will serve as the series’ academic atrium.
If the Variety article is anything to go by, the Star Trek franchise is certainly alive and well, and it’s, excitingly, exploring ways of creating novel experiences for fans of all ages.
The cast of Section 31 was revealed back in January and consists of Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez and James Hiroyuki Liao.
Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Section 31, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and more.