Star Trek: Section 31breaks away from aStar Trekmovie tradition that began in 1979. Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and written by Craig Sweeny,Star Trek: Section 31premieres Friday, January 24, on Paramount+.Section 31is the firstStar Trekmovie made for streaming, and it marks the return of Michelle Yeoh as her fan-favorite anti-heroine, Emperor Philippa Georgiou fromStar Trek: Discovery. WithSection 31,Yeoh becomes the first woman to headline aStar Trekmovie.
BeforeStar Trek: Section 31, there were 13Star Trekmovies, all of which were theatrically released. Starting with 1979’sStar Trek: The Motion Picture, every decade since has enjoyed at least oneStar Trekmovie. The first sixStar Trekmovies starred thecast ofStar Trek: The Original Series.Star Trek: The Next Generationthen took over the movie franchise with four films. In 2009, J.J. Abrams rebootedStar Trek, setting new adventures of the USS Enterprise in the alternate Kelvin timeline. However,all 13Star Trekmovies had one big thing in common beforeStar Trek: Section 31: the Starship Enterprise.
Section 31 Is The First Star Trek Movie Not About The Starship Enterprise
Star Trek: Section 31 Has Nothing To Do With The Enterprise
Star Trek: Section 31breaks one of the most prevalentStar Trekmovie traditions by not being about a version of the Starship Enterprise and its crew.Billed as"a new flavor of Star Trek," Section 31is a spinoff ofStar Trek: Discoverycentering on Emperor Philippa Georgiou facing a new threat to the United Federation of Planets and the sins of her past as the despot of the Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire. Georgiou was part of Section 31 inStar Trek: Discovery,but she is recruited into a new iteration of the black ops organization inStar Trek’s 24th century"lost era."
Everything Star Trek Just Revealed About Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 Team
Star Trek: Section 31 is made up of a group of rogues and scoundrels working outside Starfleet. Here are new details about Emperor Georgiou’s team.
It’s unknown whether a version of the USS Enterprise will appear at any point inStar Trek: Section 31. If it does, it would either be the USS Enterprise-B first seen inStar Trek Generationsor the USS Enterprise-C.Star Trek: Section 31does have a direct connection to the Enterprise-C: Lieutenant Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl) is destined to become Captain of the Enterprise-C. The tragic fate ofCaptain Rachel Garrett(Tricia O’Neill) was seen inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s classic episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” which happens decades afterStar Trek: Section 31.
Star Trek’s Next Theatrical Movie Also Isn’t About The Enterprise
What We Know About The Untitled Star Trek Origin Prequel Movie
Star Trekhas a new theatrical movie reportedly in development, but it also is not expected to be about the Starship Enterprise. Director Toby Haynes is helming aStar Trek Originprequel moviewritten by Seth Grahame-Smith that is set"decades before"J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009). Further, thisStar Trekprequel movie could be about the founding of the Federation and first encounters with new alien foes. This tentatively places theUntitled Star Trek Originsomewhere in the late 22nd century.
The Untitled Star Trek Origin will potentially be about new characters and new starships.
TheUSS Enterprise’s canonical historyhas the Constitution Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701 seen inStar Trek: Strange New WorldsandStar Trek: The Original Seriesbuilt and launched in 2245. The 22nd century’s NX-01 Enterprise seen inStar Trek: Enterpriseisn’t likely to be the focus of a newStar Trekmovie. TheUntitled Star Trek Originwill potentially be about new characters and new starships to free itself from canon (and possibly even retconStar Trekhistory) to make it more palatable for general audiences.
When Will The Starship Enterprise Come Back In A Star Trek Movie?
Star Trek 4 Is Still In Development Hell
Star Trek Beyondwas released in 2016, and it has now been 9 years since the Starship Enterprise warped on the big screen. Unfortunately,there is no end toStar Trek 4’s development hellin sight. Several high-profile directors includingQuentin Tarantino walked away fromStar Trek 4due to"creative differences.“Although Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and the rest of J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovie cast have expressed their desire to return, there has been no news since Steve Yockey was announced as the writer of a newStar Trek 4script months ago.
There are hopes thatStar Trek: Picard’s proposed spinoff about the USS Enterprise-G,Star Trek: Legacy,could become aStar Trekstreaming movie.
Disappointingly, there won’t be a newStar Trekmovie about the USS Enterprise to help celebrateStar Trek’s 60th anniversary in 2026. However,Star Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 4 should premiere in 2026 to markStar Trek’s 6th decade with more voyages of the Starship Enterprise on Paramount+. Meanwhile, the hope is thatStar Trek: Section 31is a big enough streaming success that it not only spawns sequels, but moreStar Trekstreaming movies about other characters. Maybe one of those possibleStar Trekstreaming movies could be about the Starship Enterprise.
