Will Star Trek: Section 31 get a sequel, and will Paramount+ order more Star Trek streaming movies? Directed by Olatunde Osunanmi and written by Craig Sweeny, Star Trek: Section 31 is headlined by Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, who reprises her fan-favorite anti-heroine, Emperor Philippa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery. The first new Star Trek movie in 9 years and the first Star Trek movie made for streaming, Star Trek: Section 31 premiered Friday, January 24, on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Section 31 is a feature film spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, but it carves out its own place in the Star Trek timeline. Set in the 24th century "lost era," decades before the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Section 31 sees Emperor Georgiou recruited back into Starfleet's shadowy intelligence division. The Section 31 black ops team led by Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick) needs Georgiou to find a super weapon that ties back to Philippa's past as the ruler of the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe. Georgiou faces the sins of her past as the unlikely protector of the United Federation of Planets.
Star Trek: Section 31's Ending Set Up A Sequel - But Will It Happen?
Emperor Georgiou & Section 31 Have A New Mission
Star Trek: Section 31's ending leaves the door open for a sequel about Emperor Georgiou and her Section 31 team. In fact, Section 31's final scene sets up a new mission for Georgiou and her black ops rogue squadron. Georgiou is also formally back in Section 31's fold by the end of Star Trek: Section 31. In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Georgiou was previously a member of Section 31 and helped the USS Discovery and the USS Enterprise defeat Section 31's genocidal A.I., Control.
Section 31 is already a historic project as it's the first Star Trek movie headlined by a woman (and Oscar winner).
Star Trek: Section 31 getting a sequel is entirely up to what kind of numbers the first new Star Trek movie in 9 years garners on streaming, although the target threshold for success is unknown. Star Trek on Paramount+ clearly has high hopes for Star Trek: Section 31, and the streamer would also like to continue making Star Trek movies with Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh. Section 31 is already a historic project as it's the first Star Trek movie headlined by a woman (and Oscar winner), and it's the first Star Trek movie not about any version of the Starship Enterprise.
Star Trek: Section 31 was originally planned to be a TV series spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery. Michelle Yeoh's Georgiou was written out of Star Trek: Discovery season 3, which also mentioned Philippa's past lover, San (James Hiroyuki Liao), to bridge to Section 31. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and Michelle Yeoh winning the Best Actress Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once changed Section 31's trajectory. As the first Star Trek streaming movie, Paramount+ hopes Section 31 will create a new and profitable division of Star Trek on Paramount+ to complement the multiple streaming Star Trek TV series.
Which Star Trek: Section 31 Characters Would Return For A Sequel?
The Next Section 31 Team Might Have New Faces
Not everyone survived the chaos of Star Trek: Section 31, but most of the black ops team remained alive at the end of the movie, including Emperor Georgiou. Given who was gathered at Georgiou's nightclub, the Baraam, at the end of Star Trek: Section 31, it's apparent that Michelle Yeoh's Georgiou, Omari Hardwick's Alok Sahar, Kacey Rohl's newly-promoted Lt. Commander Rachel Garrett. Sam Richardson's Quasi, and Sven Ruygrok as a new version of the Vulcan Fuzz would be back for a Star Trek: Section 31 sequel. As would Jamie Lee Curtis as Section 31's handler, Control.
|
Star Trek: Section 31 Cast |
Character |
|---|---|
|
Michelle Yeoh |
Emperor Philippa Georgiou |
|
Omari Hardwick |
Alok Sahar |
|
Kacey Rohl |
Lt. Rachel Garrett |
|
Sam Richardson |
Quasi |
|
Sven Ruygrok |
Fuzz |
|
Humberly Gonzalez |
Melle |
|
Robert Kazinsky |
Zeph |
|
Miku Martineau |
Young Georgiou |
|
James Hiroyuki Liao |
San |
|
Joe Pingue |
Dada Noe |
|
Jamie Lee Curtis |
Control |
A Star Trek: Section 31 sequel would inevitably introduce a new villain, and potentially, new members to Emperor Georgiou's squad. While Star Trek: Section 31 tied up the film's direct link to one of Georgiou's Mirror Universe past sins, it's possible a sequel could bring back Miku Martineau as the young Emperor Georgiou and further explore her rise to becoming the Terran Empire's absolute authoritarian dictator. Star Trek: Section 31 also alluded to Lt. Rachel Garrett's future as Captain of the USS Enterprise-C in Star Trek: The Next Generation and a sequel could further push Rachel toward her tragic destiny.
When Would A Star Trek Section 31 Sequel Happen?
Lots Of Factors Could Slow Down A Section 31 Sequel
If a Star Trek: Section 31 sequel were greenlit, there is no known timeframe for when it could premiere on Paramount+. Michelle Yeoh is highly in demand, and her fellow cast members like Sam Richardson and Kacey Rohl also have other acting opportunities. Scheduling Yeoh and Section 31's cast may prove to be a challenge. Further, Section 31 was filmed on the Star Trek Stage in Toronto, which is now occupied by Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which is filming two seasons back-to-back. Given an average of 2 years to mount a Star Trek on Paramount+ project, a Star Trek: Section 31 sequel shouldn't be expected until 2027 or later.
Will Paramount Plus Make More Star Trek Streaming Movies After Section 31?
Fans Really Want Star Trek: Legacy
Star Trek: Section 31 opening the door for more Star Trek streaming movies as well as a sequel to Section 31 is the optimal outcome for Paramount+ and for fans. Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks are now over, but those series introduced scores of popular characters whose stories fans want to see continue. If more Star Trek streaming movies are greenlit, it's safe to say the one audiences want the most is Star Trek: Legacy, Star Trek: Picard season 3's continuation about the USS Enterprise-G headlined by Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), and Ensign Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers).
Fans would also love to see a Star Trek: Lower Decks streaming movie picking up the saga from where Star Trek: Lower Decks' season 5 finale left off. Maybe even better would be fulfilling Mike McMahan's dream of Star Trek: Lower Decks as a live-action streaming movie. Further, there are many characters, from Star Trek: Picard's Soji (Isa Briones) and Elnor (Evan Evagora), to the Agnes Jurati Borg Queen (Allison Pill), to the villains like the Mirror Universe's Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) from Star Trek: Discovery, whose stories could be fleshed out and continued in Star Trek streaming movies.
It's possible Netflix could be inspired, if Star Trek: Section 31 is a success, to greenlight Star Trek: Prodigy as an animated streaming movie.
A great deal is riding on Star Trek: Section 31 becoming a streaming success with audiences. Section 31 sequels could potentially develop any of the stories that were written when Michelle Yeoh was originally planned to headline a new Star Trek streaming series, or a sequel could present an all-new story about Emperor Georgiou and her black ops team. But even more of a nail-biter is the future of Star Trek streaming movies hinging on whether Paramount+'s subscribers and Star Trek fans turn Star Trek: Section 31 into a hit.
