Michelle Yoeh ans Star Trek
By
Joshua M. Patton
Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek Section 31
Section 31 is a new Star Trek feature film that blurs the line between dark tones and familiar storytelling in the franchise's universe.
Led by Michelle Yeoh, the movie steps away from traditional Star Trek narratives, potentially shifting the future of the franchise.
Paramount's financial struggles prompt a shift towards diverse storytelling through mid-budget movies like Section 31.
After years in development, Michelle Yeoh's solo Star Trek project, Section 31, is inching closer to its debut on Paramount+. Originally conceived as a spinoff series to Star Trek: Discovery, the story of Philippa Georgiou is now a feature film for the streaming service. While Section 31 looks nothing like any previous Star Trek entry, it is a test case for the future of the franchise as Paramount transitions to new ownership. The first trailer for Section 31 was released at San Diego Comic-Con backed by the song "Formation" from Beyoncé.
Fans immediately noticed that Section 31 was visually distinct from other Star Trek stories, even newer fare like Discovery or Strange New Worlds. Since the plot follows a group of people working on the dark side of Starfleet, the tone is distinct as well. Still, while many things about Section 31 are unique, the movie actually follows a tried-and-true model. Since she first debuted Philippa Georgiou on Discovery, the Section 31 film is a movie born from the television series. However, if it is a success, that formula could flip for the cash-strapped studio.
How Star Trek Became a Film Franchise in the First Place
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After Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled, something unprecedented happened. The show achieved cult status during its debut, and a letter-writing campaign led by fans Bjo and John Trimble saved it from cancelation in Season 2. Once the series hit syndication (with 12 fewer episodes than usually needed), Star Trek: The Original Series became more and more popular. Nearly a decade after the series premiere, thousands of people gathered at the first Star Trek convention. Fans even picketed NBC, the network that aired the show, to bring it back. Eventually, Paramount heard them.
In the late 1970s, the studio tasked Gene Roddenberry with creating a sequel series called Star Trek Phase II. However, once Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind became box office successes, Paramount turned Phase II into Star Trek: The Motion Picture. While it was profitable, it wasn't until the next film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, that the franchise was truly "back." That film directly continued a story from The Original Series. The original cast would go on to star in four more films, with select members reprising their roles for Star Trek: Generations. That film handed off the big-screen franchise to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Next Generation ended while still very popular, but series lead Patrick Stewart would've likely moved on. Graduating to feature films encouraged him to stay, and Star Trek continued on for three more films. While Nemesis did not earn back its budget, Paramount stopped making Star Trek movies because of a change in leadership at the studio. When those new executives were gone, Star Trek returned with a trilogy of reboot films featuring new actors playing the original, classic characters. The show has always drawn from its television roots for its big-screen efforts.
How Star Trek: Section 31 Morphed from Spinoff Series to Feature Film
Star Trek Discovery - Philippa Georgiou is recruited into Section 31 Deleted Scene (Clip)
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Philippa Georgiou appeared in the Star Trek: Discovery pilot episodes and returned as her Mirror Universe counterpart. After that first season, Michelle Yeoh entered talks to lead a spinoff centered around her character, at least the Terran Emperor version. However, development on that series had a long lead time, as she had a large role to play in Discovery Seasons 2 and 3. As the flagship series and franchise for Paramount's streaming service (first CBS All Access and now Paramount+), there was a lot of Star Trek in the works at that time. Star Trek: Picard was only just starting, as was Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Season 2 then led to a demand for Strange New Worlds, which the studio turned around so quickly, the series was likely already being thought about before the Star Trek fan petition. While the production teams focused on making all of these series, the Georgiou spinoff was never forgotten, even after Georgiou left Discovery to go somewhere else in the Star Trek timeline. Of course, things also happened in Yeoh's career, specifically her multiple award-winning role in the film Everything, Everywhere All At Once. With the series' star in greater demand than ever, the spinoff had to evolve.
In spring 2023, the announcement came down from Paramount that Yeoh's spinoff, always hinted at being a story about Starfleet black ops division Section 31, wasn't happening. Instead, the character would lead the first movie since 2016's Star Trek Beyond. The project may have been dead on arrival if not for its star. "Through all the different iterations of it, Michelle was completely committed to doing it. Even after she won the Oscar," producer Alex Kurtzman said. In fact, Yeoh "doubled down on it" eager to reprise her role, putting Star Trek back in the movie business while expanding the universe even more.
Section 31 Comes at a Transitional Period for Paramount and Star Trek
Star Trek: Section 31 Teaser Trailer
The Paramount and Skydance Merger, Explained
A deal was announced between Skydance Media and Paramount Global that, if it goes through, would save the studio from financial ruin.
Outside of the universe Gene Roddenberry created in the 1960s, Paramount was struggling. Despite consistent growth, the Paramount+ streaming service wasn't turning into the money-printing machine executives hoped it would. Paramount Pictures also released a number of 2023's biggest box office flops such as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and the usually reliable Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning. Paramount was also financially involved in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which had a $300 million budget, but it's unclear how much (if anything) they lost on that film. Nonetheless, Paramount was in deep trouble, which is why the studio went up for sale.
Despite Star Trek's success over the past 15 years, Paramount simply can't afford to keep producing shows at the level they were. Star Trek: Discovery ended after five seasons, and Picard closed up shop after three, even though Patrick Stewart said that was always the plan. The animated comedy from Mike McMahan, Star Trek: Lower Decks is also heading into its final season, though there is always a possibility it could join Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix. However, it's not all bad news. The new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is filming, and a new live-action comedy was announced at SDCC from Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien. Paramount's future also looks brighter.
The proposed Paramount/Skydance merger is good for Star Trek. The production company already produced Star Trek Beyond, and its executives seem to want to continue to make movies and shows. This is why Section 31 just might be the most important Star Trek project. COO of Roddenberry Entertainment Trevor Roth told CBR that "feature storytelling is really winning the day right now." If fan-favorite shows like Star Trek: Prodigy or the potential Picard spinoff Star Trek: Legacy can't be full seasons of television shows, it's possible they could return as a series of feature films. Despite the past success of taking characters from shows to the big-screen, the future of the franchise might mean doing the opposite.
Section 31 and Other Star Trek Movies Could Serve as Backdoor Pilots for Shows
Even with new ownership and an influx of capital, Paramount has to be careful with its spending. Believe it or not, Star Trek has always been expensive to produce. Both The Original Series and The Next Generation were some of the costliest shows on TV. While the budgets for the modern series aren't widely known, Strange New Worlds reportedly costs $7 million per episode. The budget for Section 31 is certainly less than a season's worth of shows. Instead of investing in brand-new series, Star Trek producers could use streaming features as a "test kitchen" for what fans want to see.
Picard showrunner Terry Matalas' Star Trek: Legacy idea is one fans latched onto, even creating a petition like they did for Strange New Worlds. While a series following Captain Seven of Nine and the Enterprise-G crew sounds great, perhaps it's a story that could begin with a Section 31-like feature. In fact, television series in the late 1970s and 1980s often got their starts as TV movies first. If the ratings were good, they would be put into production for a full season. Paramount could use streaming features to help try out different approaches to Star Trek storytelling and see which resonate with fans.
Paramount still apparently has plans for films set in the Kelvin Universe that began with Star Trek in 2009. However, despite its longevity, Star Trek can't support feature films with budgets in the hundreds of millions. Mid-budget features like Section 31 would bring the universe back to the model that worked for the first half-dozen movies. Whether released in theaters or just on streaming, these movies could help chart the course for Star Trek's future. They could bring back legacy characters or introduce entirely new concepts without committing to a full season of shows. Movies like Section 31 would allow for more diverse storytelling, ensuring that Roddenberry's universe lasts for another six decades.
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