A great premise for a Star Trek movie about Section 31, Starfleet's clandestine black ops division, was already set up in Star Trek: Lower Decks, but that's not the Section 31 movie that Paramount+ is actually making. Coming January 24, Star Trek: Section 31 is the first feature-length movie in Star Trek's streaming era. Star Trek: Section 31 is a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery featuring Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, and directed by Discovery's Olatunde Osunsanmi, with the darker and edgier tone that earlier seasons of Star Trek: Discovery embraced.
In the season 5 finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "The New Next Generation", the crew of the USS Cerritos thwarts a barrage of soliton energy that threatens to destroy Star Trek's Prime Universe by turning the rift into a stable multiversal portal. Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and the crew of Section 31's Defiant-class Anaximander are poised to keep exploring Star Trek's multiverse via the portal. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and Admiral Alonso Freeman (Phil LaMarr) are assigned to oversee the Anaximander's missions from the antiquated Starbase 80, which has been moved, DS9-style, to the new portal.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Set Up The Best Section 31 Movie
What Would Section 31 Do With Access To Star Trek's Multiverse?
Star Trek: Prodigy introduced huge amounts of lore to Star Trek's multiverse, including the timeline-eating Loom and the return of Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) as a Traveler tasked with protecting the multiverse. Imagine if Section 31 weaponized the Loom to manufacture a temporal disaster, but William Boimler joined forces with Traveler Wesley to put a stop to it.
Why Star Trek Isn’t Making Lower Decks’ Section 31 Multiverse Story
Paramount+ Scaling Back Means A Cautious Approach To New Star Trek Shows
Unfortunately, Star Trek isn't making the Section 31 multiverse story set up by Star Trek: Lower Decks. The multiverse portal belongs to Star Trek: Lower Decks, and there are no plans to continue Mike McMahan's animated comedy, leaving the Anaximander and Starbase 80 without continuing adventures. For now, Paramount+ is focusing on the two Star Trek shows currently in production: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Star Trek: Section 31 might get a sequel or inspire other "Long Trek" movies—which could be Lower Decks spinoffs—but that depends on how successful Section 31 is when it drops.
By leaving Section 31's Anaximander storyline hanging, Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale follows a worrying trend set by other new Star Trek shows that ended recently. Star Trek: Discovery hinted at continuing the characters' stories, Star Trek: Prodigy set up the adventures of the USS Prodigy's new crew in the Delta Quadrant, and Star Trek: Picard famously (and frustratingly) set up Star Trek: Legacy about the USS Enterprise-G in the 25th century. Of these, only Discovery is likely to get a follow-through in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy; the rest, including Star Trek: Lower Decks' Section 31 spinoff, are unlikely.
