Star Trek: Section 31 Movie ‘Worked Hard’ to Uphold Franchise’s Optimism — Plus, Which Spy Is ‘Beyond Old’?
We spy an espionage-themed Star Trek movie on the horizon. But will fans of the long-running sci-fi franchise welcome it with open minds?
Premiering this Friday, Jan. 24, on Paramount+, Star Trek: Section 31 finds Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh reprising her Star Trek: Discovery role as Philippa Georgiou, the onetime Terran emperor who allies with the titular secret division of Starfleet — and in turn must face the sins of her past.
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The Section 31 team tasked with recruiting Georgiou includes Omari Hardwick (Power) as Alok, Kacey Rohl (Hannibal) as (yes, the) Rachel Garrett, Robert Kazinsky (True Blood) as Zeph, Sam Richardson (Veep) as Quasi, Sven Ruygrok (One Piece) as Fuzz and Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia) as Melle. The made-for-streaming movie’s cast also includes James Hiroyuki Liao (Presumed Innocent) as San and Miku Martineau (Honor Society) as a young Georgiou.
Section 31 was first put into development a full five years ago — but as a TV series. Since then, of course, Yeoh has been incredibly busy with her Academy Award-winning role in Everything Everywhere All at Once among many other projects.
How did the offshoot evolve during that XL development period?
HOW DID SECTION 31 CHANGE AS A MOVIE?
“I was attached to it from the get-go,” director/executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi told TVLine at New York Comic Con. “[Franchise EP] Alex [Kurtzman] approached me and asked if I would direct it, and Craig Sweeny, the writer, delivered a draft at the time. It was a TV show, and we had a lot of the people that were involved in Discovery involved, and we were all really excited.
“But then, for a variety of reasons and schedules and conflicts… we had to wait to get it made,” Osunsanmi continued. During that delay, “the story kept changing and getting better and better as it was nipped and tucked. We ended up with a movie, and we ended up with an unbelievable cast around Michelle [Yeoh] that we never would’ve had. It was Christmas morning every time I came to set to see what they were going to do, and that would not have happened if we made it five years ago.”
Asked to draw a comparison between the movie’s titular organization and a real-life entity, Osunsanmi said, “Section 31 is to Starfleet what the CIA is to the Pentagon, or what the CIA is to the military complex in the United States,” in that “they do all the stuff that Starfleet can’t, won’t, or doesn’t want to admit to having to do.
“But our movie isn’t that dark,” the EP was quick to note. “Our movie is fun and full of life, and inspiration. And that was a delicate balance to have to walk, particularly with a lead character like Philippa Georgiou.”
Osunsanmi knows full well that the idea of a hard-boiled spy organization within the universe that gave us The Original Series, The Next Generation et al “always brings up emotions in Star Trek fans” who are quick to scoff, “Not my Star Trek!” “What we can say is we worked really hard to make sure we kept up the ideals of optimism and ‘What do we want our society to be in the future?'” said Osunsanmi. “In the end, Section 31 is good, it’s fun, and it’s a joy. Hopefully, they’re pleasantly surprised.”
WHO’S WHO IN STAR TREK: SECTION 31?
Alok Sahar’s Section 31 team is comprised of spies wielding a variety of skills or abilities, all under the watchful eye of Starfleet representative/hall monitor Rachel Garrett.
Alok himself is “a character who runs a very motley crew of individuals,” Omari Hardwick previewed. “They are specifically on a mission to rectify some things that Michelle Yeoh’s character has done, which you will learn about.”
Upon meeting the iconic Georgiou, Alok “recognizes the leadership in her. ‘Game recognizes game,'” says Hardwick. “[That saying] can be corny and overwrought, but I do think about the fact that James Cameron made gazillions of dollars off of that construct.” In the Avatar films, “It’s simply a blue woman saying to Sam Worthington’s character, ‘I see you.’ Everybody wants to be seen in life.”
Speaking of which, Alok has seen some things in his long, long life. “I’m, like, super older than 100,” Hardwick revealed. “I said, ‘Tunde [Osunsanmi], I’m going to have makeup?’ ‘No. You’re going to look like you, but you’re beyond old.’ I’ve been augmented, and I have been cryo-chambered…. I am super old.”
“Alok was written to be like James Bond,” said co-star Robert Kazinsky, “but it’s so much more than James Bond, so much more than just sexy and smart — and I’m an extension of that,” as Zeph, who wears a mechanical exoskeleton. “I am the left hand that crushes whilst his right hand caresses,” quips Kazinsky. “I’m there to eat sandwiches and smash stuff.”
Among the other team members, Sam Richardson’s Quasi is a shapeshifting Chameloid, Humberly Gonzalez’s Melle possesses “irresistible magnetism,” and Sven Ruygrok’s Fuzz sure looks like a Vulcan… but perhaps isn’t quite?
Many eyes, though, may be on Kacey Rohl’s Rachel Garrett, whom the Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” told us one day becomes captain of the USS Enterprise-C (and was played by Tricia O’Neil.)
“The first couple of times I auditioned, I didn’t know the character’s actual name or any of that,” Rohl shared. “It wasn’t until the final callback were they were like, ‘Hey, by the way, she’s kind of a big deal.’ So, it’s been an incredible pleasure, learning all about her and what she means to people. Obviously, the first female captain of the Enterprise is pretty cool.”
Previewing Rachel’s role among the Section 31 spooks, Rohl says, “I’m there to watch over things, to make sure we’re coloring inside of the lines — at least in the beginning of the film.”
Want scoop on Star Trek: Section 31, or for any Star Trek TV show ? Shoot an email to [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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