One of the biggest questions surrounding Star Trek: Section 31 has been answered. Directed by Olautunde Osunanmi and written by Craig Sweeney, Star Trek: Section 31 premieres Friday, January 24, 2025, on Paramount+. The first Star Trek movie made for streaming on Paramount+, Star Trek: Section 31 is headlined by Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, whose antiheroine, Emperor Philippa Georgiou, rejoins Section 31 in a different era of Star Trek's timeline.
Section 31 was created by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and its season 6 introduction was immediately controversial. A secret black ops agency seemed to contradict the lofty ideals of the United Federation of Planets. Yet Section 31 was an enduring concept. It exists in the alternate Kelvin Timeline of Star Trek Into Darkness, and details about its earlier incarnations were revealed in the prequels Star Trek: Enterprise, set in the 22nd century, and Star Trek: Discovery, which took place in the 23rd century during its first two seasons.
Check out Star Trek's official Section 31 history video below:
Star Trek Official Video Answers One Of Section 31’s Biggest Questions
Section 31 Was An "Open Secret" For Part Of Its Existence
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine established that Section 31's existence was a secret not even Captains like Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) knew about in the 24th century. However, the earlier versions of Section 31 seen in Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Discovery saw Section 31 operate out in the open, and USS Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was well aware of the Federation's insidious agency. Star Trek's "A Quick Guide to Section 31" video finally answers this discrepancy:
For much of its existence, Section 31 was an open secret. By the 24th century, as the Federation expanded and peace reigned, Section 31 quietly faded from public view, a ghost story whispered about but rarely seen.
Section 31 has existed since the early days of Starfleet and the founding of the Federation. Characters like Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) of Star Trek: Enterprise and the parents of Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) were part of Section 31. The greater knowledge of Section 31 within Starfleet seems to coincide with how dangerous the galaxy is and how precarious the Federation is in the 22nd and 23rd centuries compared to the 24th century when "the Federation expanded and peace reigned."
Where Does Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek Movie Fall In Section 31’s Timeline?
Star Trek: Section 31 Takes Place In The 24th Century "Lost Era"
Interestingly, Star Trek: Section 31 falls between the known 23rd and 24th centuries of Star Trek.Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek streaming movie takes place at some point in the early 24th century, referred to as Star Trek's "lost era" before the beginning of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's probable that in Star Trek: Section 31, the black ops division is in the process of fading from public view and perhaps even covering its tracks.
Just a few decades after Star Trek: Section 31, during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Section 31 is unheard of beyond the highest rungs of power within Starfleet and the Federation.
What is known about Star Trek: Section 31's story is Emperor Georgiou lives outside of the Federation and operates a bar under an alias. Alok (Omari Hardwick) and his Section 31 team recruit Georgiou for a secret mission. Perhaps Star Trek: Section 31's mission is the flashpoint that begins the transition where Section 31 goes from an entity known and feared throughout the galaxy to a "ghost story" only whispered about by those in the know.
