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The upcoming movie Star Trek: Section 31 dropped its first footage recently, and beyond me really wanting to see this adventure get a theatrical release, the trailer didn’t tell much about what to expect. Fortunately, CinemaBlend had a chance to speak to its stars at San Diego Comic-Con, and we learned firsthand from Sam Richardson and others about how Section 31 will stand out from what we’ll see in other upcoming Star Trek projects.
Self-professed Star Trek fan, Emmy winner and comedian Sam Richardson will be in Section 31 playing the first Chameloid seen onscreen since Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. During my conversation with the cast, I asked them what stood out about this Michelle Yeoh-led movie compared to past Trek content, and director Olutande Osunsanmi deferred to Richardson. The actor dropped a key reveal, which is obvious in hindsight given the big personalities we see throughout the footage:
What’s kind of different about Section 31 is, you know, the other iterations of Trek are very Naval. It’s a ship that has a hierarchy, protocol, and chain of command. Whereas, this ragtag bunch, they have all these things, but it’s a little bit murkier. And so, [Olatunde Osunsanmi] let us kind of play with that and improvise a little bit while still sticking to a very brilliant script. But everything can be a little dirtier.
Section 31 is the shadow ops division of Starfleet, and while traditional Starfleet members hear whispers of its existence, it’s not officially acknowledged by the organization. Their goal is to further the Federation’s goals when all other traditional methods of diplomacy fall apart, and they get some leverage to operate right at the line of what’s acceptable. As such, there’s some leeway in that they don’t always operate like a standard ship and its chain of command, which makes a lot of sense in hindsight.
This isn’t exactly new information, as longtime fans may remember Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Malcolm Reed, who was tasked with completing Section 31 objectives in secret and wasn’t even allowed to let his superior, Captain Archer, know what was going on. This is because some of the organization’s activities are unsavory and, frankly, would be frowned upon if others within Starfleet learned about their missions.
At the same time, even Section 31 has its limits, which is why Kacey Rohl will play the role of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Rachel Garrett in the movie. As mentioned in the trailer, she’s there to ensure no one on the team kills anyone during the mission, but she also may be there to ensure none of the mission members kill each other as well.
While those who watch Star Trek: Section 31 with their Paramount+ subscription will clock differences between it and the shows, director Olutande Osunsanmi assured CinemaBlend that the movie is still Star Trek and rooted within the universe. Sam Richardson agreed and noted that he and the others still had to wrestle with the “Treknobabble” that every other Trek actor has to tackle:
There is tech talk from a made-up science that I had to do [laughs]!
As mentioned, Richardson will play a Chameloid, which is a shape-shifting species only seen once before in Star Trek. While they can morph and resemble other people, they cannot change the distinct color of their eyes. One can see how that would be a hindrance, though I still think having a shapeshifter on your covert team is a huge help.
Star Trek: Section 31 will be the first movie tied to the franchise premiering in several years, but others are on the way. A movie about the origins of Starfleet is happening, and we’re still expecting the fourth Kelvin timeline movie as well. Patrick Stewart also teased a Picard movie was happening, but I’m still waiting for further details on that from someone else before I consider that an official project. Whatever the case, it’s exciting to see Trek get rolling at the movies again, and fans should definitely be excited.
Star Trek: Section 31 will premiere on Paramount+ in “early 2025,” though I still have my heart set on seeing some sort of theatrical release. Let’s hope that enough people can make noise to make it happen, leading to Trek making a big return to theaters.