It’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan. We’ve got Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, the possibility of Legacy, and Section 31, starring Michelle Yeoh. If you’ve been worried about that last one, don’t be – Yeoh is making sure it happens.
Joining Star Trek in 2017, Yeoh settled right into playing Star Trek captain Philippa Georgiou in Discovery. Since her appearance in the Star Trek timeline, she’s become an even greater superstar than she already was, achieving worldwide acclaim for her role in Everything Everywhere All At One, one of the best movies of 2022.
Previously, Yeoh was due to lead Section 31, a Star Trek movie that’s been in development for so long that there was some fear it might fall by the wayside. Not so much, according to producer Alex Kurtzman, who states that Yeoh remains locked on for the Section 31 release date.
“It is happening,” Kurtzman tells Trekmovie.com. “Michelle [Yeoh] is just the most extraordinary person on every level. She had one of one of the most unbelievable years that anybody could ever have in the history of ever, and she had a million opportunities to hit the jackpot on it and do other things. And what she did with all of the power she had accrued is make sure that Section 31 was moving forward.”
Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a more heartening update. Kurtzman mentions that since the 2023 Writers Strike has finished, development on Section 31 has resumed. We’re still waiting for the 2023 Actors Strike to finish, so once studios give the same updated protections and compensation to actors, it sounds like this particular chapter of Trek will be golden.
Originally, Section 31 was going to be a Star Trek series, but somewhere along the way, a film seemed more appropriate (perhaps because of Yeoh’s growing schedule). The title refers to a secret group that performs undesirable missions for the United Federation of Planets.
The team represents the darker side of Trek’s future utopia. They were introduced in Star Trek: Voyager, and that’ll be the first time they take center stage in a mainstream narrative of their own. Listen, I was already in, thanks to Yeoh, but seeing some of Trek’s underbelly? Hell yeah.
Watch this space for more. Keep our guides on the Strange New Worlds season 3 release date, Star Trek Legacy release date, and the Star Trek 4 release date handy for where else the Enterprise might take us. Our new movies list is essential, too, if you want to keep up with the likes of Avatar 3.