Paramount+ began production on Star Trek: Section 31, an original movie starring Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh.
Production began on January 30 in Toronto. Yeoh reprises her role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery. She joins a secret division of Starfleet and is tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets while also facing the sins of her past.
Yeoh is joined by Omari Hardwick (Power, Army of the Dead), Kacey Rohl (Hannibal, The Magicians), Sam Richardson (Veep, Ted Lasso), Sven Ruygrok (Spud, One Piece), Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim, True Blood), Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia, Slumberland), and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry, The Dropout).
“Thrilled to report principal photography has started on Star Trek: Section 31,” said executive producer Alex Kurtzman. “We welcome our incredible cast of new characters as they join our beloved Michelle Yeoh on her next wild adventures across the Trek universe.”
Yeoh’s Georgiou was a breakout character from Discovery, introduced in the first season only to return in the third. Her character, which hails from the mirror universe, stood out because she was so unlike the standard Federation officer: blunt, ruthless, and sadistic — but with a streak of humanity wonderfully played by Yeoh. Section 31 was originally supposed to be a spinoff series before plans changed and it turned into a film for the streaming service.
Paramount+ has long been the streaming home of the Star Trek franchise, but in recent months has begun renting out its licenses to other platforms. Last year, Netflix adopted Star Trek: Prodigy, which the streamer saved from cancellation during production of its second season. It debuted on the platform last Christmas.
In January, Paramount+ moved its classic Star Trek collection to Max.
Paramount+ still hosts Star Trek: The Original Series, The Next Generation, and the rest of the Paramount+ original series, including Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, and the animated series Lower Decks.
Along with Star Trek: Section 31, Paramount+ will exclusively debut the recently announced series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
Star Trek: Section 31 is written by Craig Sweeny. The film is directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, who serves as executive producer along with Kurtzman, Sweeny, Aaron Baiers, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, and Yeoh. It is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.
Image credit: Paramount+