Warning: SPOILERS For Star Trek: Section 31Star Trek: Section 31is the firstStar Trekstreaming movie, and, given its critical and audience reception, it could also be the last. Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and written by Craig Sweeny,Star Trek: Section 31is Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh’s comeback asEmperor Philippa Georgiou. Yeoh’s formerStar Trek: Discoveryanti-heroine teams up with a newteam of Section 31 operativesto stop a plot to destroy the United Federation of Planets.
Section 31was originally planned as a TV series spinoff ofStar Trek: Discovery.Michelle Yeoh had a recurring role onStar Trek:Discovery, and Emperor Georgiou was written out of the show inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3 to bridge intoSection 31. Several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Yeoh’s Best ActressOscar win forEverything Everywhere All At Oncemade Paramount+ pivot, turningSection 31into a made-for-streaming movie.
There were hopesStar Trek: Section 31would launch a new Star Trek on Paramount+ movie franchise, butSection 31’s woeful performance among critics and fans may have dashed them.
Section 31’s Reception May Kill Star Trek Streaming Movies
Section 31 Ties A Star Trek Movie Low
Star Trek: Section 31was not well-received by critics or audiences.Star Trek: Section 31has a 23% Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, although this has ticked up from the 18% low it garnered earlier in its premiere weekend.Section 31’s Rotten Tomatoes scorenow ties the lowestStar Trekmovie Rotten score belonging toStar Trek V: The Final Frontier.Reviews overall were not kind to Michelle Yeoh’sStar Trekstreaming movie.
Star Trek: Section 31 Review - I Wanted A Bit More Star Trek From Michelle Yeoh’s Otherwise Fun Sci-Fi Adventure
Star Trek: Section 31 goes where no Star Trek has gone before with a fun sci-fi spy adventure led by Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Philippa Georgiou.
Perhaps even more damning isStar Trek: Section 31’s 17% Popcornmeter audience score, which is abysmally lowand reflects the general online consensus of the film, especially among hardcoreStar Trekfans. EvenStar Trek V: The Final Frontier’s 25% audience score skews higher thanStar Trek: Section 31. WhileSection 31does have fans who appreciate its attempt to bring aMission: ImpossiblemeetsGuardians of the Galaxyvibe to theStar Trekuniverse, the overall consensus pans the firstStar Trekstreaming movie.
A Star Trek: Section 31 sequel now seems unlikely.
InStar Trek: Section 31’s defense, it was the #2 movie streaming on Paramount+for the weekend of January 25 & 26, right behindGladiator II.Michelle Yeoh’sStar Trekmovieis being watched, and perhaps even appreciated beyond the online and critical reaction. Yet such a vitriolic response from both critics and theStar Trekfandom is not the welcome forSection 31that Star Trek on Paramount+ hoped for. AStar Trek: Section 31sequel now seems unlikely, but the real concern is the future of otherStar Trekstreaming movies.
Can Star Trek: Legacy Happen After Section 31?
It’s Hard To See How Star Trek: Legacy Can Happen Now
As beloved as Michelle Yeoh is,Star Trek: Section 31was never the newStar Trekproject hoped for by the Trekker faithful.The number one desire forStar Trekfans isStar Trek: Legacy, the proposed continuation ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3 about the USS Enterprise-G led by Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Paramount+ has not attempted to deliver on fans' hopes forStar Trek: Legacyas a TV series, andStar Trek: Section 31could now makeStar Trek: Legacyeven less likely.
The 4 Biggest Things Star Trek Fans Want In 2025
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IfStar Trek: Legacycouldn’t become an ongoing TV series, then a streaming movie would be welcomed as the next best thing. There was speculation and hope that ifStar Trek: Section 31was a success, then it could meanStar Trek: Legacymay become viable as a streaming movie. However, ifStar Trek: Section 31becomes the death knell forStar Trekstreaming movies, then the possibility ofStar Trek: Legacydissipates. In Paramount+’s defense, however,they have never indicatedStar Trek: Legacywould be a TV series or a streaming movie.
Why Section 31’s Reviews Are So Bad
Section 31 Is One Of The Lowest Rated Star Trek Movies Ever
Star Trek: Section 31was billed as"a new flavor of Star Trek,“indicating a departure from the usual tropes of an outer space adventure about a Starfleet ship and crew.Section 31is the firstStar Trekmovie not about the Starship Enterprisein any capacity. Instead, Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Georgiou is surrounded by a new cast of characters andSection 31leans heavily into Georgiou’s past sins as the Emperor of the Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire. The result isa very differentStar Trekmovie that, unfortunately, isn’t veryStar Trekat all.
Star Trek: Section 31 Cast & Character Guide
Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a new team of operatives teaming up with Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Georgiou to save the Federation from a new threat.
The consensus aboutStar Trek: Section 31is that while it can be a fun sci-fi flick with a likable cast,Section 31is just a generic action movie.Section 31lacks the moral quandaries that the bestStar Trekstories explore, preferring to pay off with fist-fights and explosions. Even those who favorStar Trek: Section 31agreeMichelle Yeoh deserves a better and more memorable comeback as Emperor Georgiou.Worse, if there’s noSection 31sequel, it leaves Georgiou in limbo becauseSection 31’s early 24th-century timeframehas no easy connections to the rest ofStar Trek’s canon.
Star Trek Needs More Streaming Movies
Many Star Trek Characters Could Use Streaming Movie Continuations
The potential forStar Trekstreaming movies goes far beyond aSection 31sequel. With multiple Star Trek on Paramount+ series now over,streaming movies could be a lifeline to continuing the stories of many belovedStar Trekcharacters. BesidesStar Trek: Legacy, aStar Trek: Lower Decksstreaming animated (or live-action) movie could follow up the intriguing multiverse setup byStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5’s finale. Missing characters fromStar Trek: Discoverylike Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) orStar Trek: Picard’s Soji (Isa Briones), Elnor (Evan Evagora), and the Agnes Jurati Borg Queen (Allison Pill) could also reappear inStar Trekstreaming movies.
Star Trek streaming movies are a question mark after Star Trek: Section 31.
Another hope forStar Trekstreaming movies is reuniting the casts ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, andStar Trek: Enterprisein live-action, the wayStar Trek: The Next Generation’s castcame back together forStar Trek: Picardseason 3. While this feels like a pipe dream,the potential forStar Trekstreaming movies seems limited only by creativity and budgetary considerations. But now,Star Trekstreaming movies are a question mark afterStar Trek: Section 31.
Star Trek: Section 31 Movie Sequel: Everything We Know
Star Trek: Section 31 is Paramount+’s first Star Trek streaming movie, but will Michelle Yeoh headline another movie as Emperor Georgiou?
Star Trek: Section 31getting a sequel would be a big surprise, all things considered. A collective desire to see Emperor Georgiou lead anotherSection 31adventure doesn’t seem to exist given how the firstStar Trekstreaming movie was received. The real losers ofStar Trek: Section 31’s failings, however, are the myriad stories that now could be lost and unfulfilled by no moreStar Trekstreaming movies, and theStar Trekfans, who have cause to worry about thefuture of theStar Trekfranchise.
