Whether Star Trek 4 will ever appear is still up in the air. But one thing is certain: almost nine years after Star Trek Beyond, Trekkies will finally get to see a new Star Trek film in just a few days. However, Section 31 does not continue the reboot series, but rather tells an independent story within the original canon. What do you need to know in advance? We have summarized that here.
When does Star Trek: Section 31 start?
The first Star Trek film in years will not be released on the big screen for the first time, but rather directly in the stream. Section 31 appears on January 24, 2025 on Paramount+ and was directed by director Olatunde Osunanmi, who previously directed 14 episodes of the series Star Trek: Discovery.
What is Section 31 and what is it about?
Anyone who is not very familiar with the sci-fi universe will initially have little use for the film title. What is meant is the so-called Section 31, one Division of Starfleet Intelligence first mentioned 26 years ago in the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and most recently appearing in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery.
This secret special unit for espionage and counterintelligence is intended to protect the security of the United Federation of Planets and may also operate outside of Starfleet regulations for this purpose. While Section 31 acts autonomously in later years, at the time of the film it is still tied to Starfleet.
Check out the trailer for Star Trek: Section 31 here:
Star Trek: Section 31 – Trailer (German) HD
And what is Section 31 about? The main character of the film is the dubious Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), who is recruited by a team from Section 31 to take on a covert mission in which a huge threat to the Federation must be averted.
Also on the team are Agent Alok (Omari Hardwick), Chameloid Quasi (Sam Richardson), mecha-suit fighter Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), fake Vulcan Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), Deltan Melle (Humberly González) and Starfleet Lieutenant Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl) – who makes sure no one murders without permission.
While much of the ensemble consists of characters newly invented for the film, one character has a busy Star Trek past. We are of course talking about the main character Philippa Georgiou from the series Star Trek: Discovery.
Who is Philippa Georgiou?
You haven’t seen the series Discovery? No problem at all, because all you need to know about Philippa Georgiou is this: She was once the strict one Empress of the Terran Empire in a dark mirror universe. She was reluctantly taken to the Federation universe by the crew of the starship USS Discovery.
As ruthless fighter and unpredictable ally Philippa Georgiou briefly served as captain of the Discovery, temporarily joined Section 31 (although decades before the film’s plot) and followed the crew on a journey back in time to the distant 32nd century. Georgiou was part of the series for a total of 24 episodes before she left the plot in season 3 and was sent through a portal to another time by a mysterious guardian of eternity.
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Do I need to have seen Star Trek: Discovery beforehand?
The good news: You don’t need to know any of the five seasons of Star Trek: Discoveryto understand Section 31. Apart from the main character Philippa Georgiou, there are no direct connections to the series.
While Discovery is set in the mid-23rd century and later in the future of the 32nd century, the new film is set many hundreds of years earlier, in the early 24th century, located. In the context of the Star Trek timeline, this means that the story of Section 31 takes place many years after the adventures of Captain Kirk’s Enterprise crew and several decades before a certain Jean-Luc Picard takes up his post as captain.