Star Trek hasn’t produced a feature film in almost eight years. After the sci-fi franchise was recently expanded at Paramount+ exclusively with series like Picard, Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, a Star Trek film is now finally in production again.
The new film Star Trek: Section 31, starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, takes you straight to the heart of a mysterious organization that has been causing trouble in the Star Trek universe for many years. This is for the casual trekkie Section 31 perhaps not a common term. Therefore, in this article we have summarized the most important information about the murderous sci-fi special unit.
The Dark Side of Star Trek: What is Section 31?
In short: Section 31 (in the original: Section 31) is one in the world of Star Trek autonomously operating division of Starfleet Intelligence. Because in order to preserve the utopian future of the 24th century and the security of the United Federation of Planets, someone has to get their hands dirty sometimes without the public noticing.
CBS
Section 31 in Deep Space Nine
However, Section 31 was not always a part of Star Trek and was first mentioned 26 years ago in the 6th season of the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The name comes from Section 31 of Article 14 of the Starfleet Charter:
In times of exceptional threats it is permitted to override the regulations.
Since then, the story of the secret special unit for espionage and counterintelligence, which itself has been before Torture, murder and attempted genocide does not shy away from being expanded in novels, comics and several Star Trek series. For example, in the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise, we learned that Section 31 already existed in the early years of Starfleet in the 22nd century.
The new Star Trek film brings back Section 31
Section 31 was most present in the second season of the series Star Trek: Discovery, to which the new film will be based. In it, Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) was recruited as an agent for Section 31. As a former Empress of the Terran Empire from the Mirror Universe, she is ideal for morally questionable covert operations suitable.
Paramount+
Michelle Yeoh as Section 31 agent Georgiou
How exactly Georgiou will come into contact with Section 31 again and when the new Star Trek film will actually take place is not yet known. The last time we saw Georgiou was in Season 3 of Discovery when, after a time jump to the 31st century, she entered a portal that would once again take her to another place in another time.
When does Star Trek: Section 31 start on Paramount+?
In 2018, the development of a Section 31 spin-off was announced. The project was originally intended to be a series. After delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Michelle Yeoh’s busy schedule, the idea was adapted into a film.
There is currently no specific start date. Since filming on Section 31 recently started in January 2024, we shouldn’t Expect a release before 2025. The film will be released exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service.