Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh will reprise her role of Emperor Philippa Georgiou for “Star Trek: Section 31,” a spin-off of “Star Trek: Discovery” originally conceived as a series but is now becoming an original movie for the Paramount+ service.
In the film, Georgiou joins the secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets by any means necessary. In the process, she faces the sins of her past as the former Emperor of the Terran Empire from the Mirror Universe.
‘Discovery’ veterans Craig Sweeny and Olatunde Osunsanmi will write and direct, respectively. Yeoh first starred on ‘Discovery’ as our universe’s version of Georgiou in the pilot and two further episodes. She returned later in the first season as Emperor Georgiou and stayed in the role until halfway through the third season in 2020.
Attempts have been made to create a “Section 31” series since 2018, with Yeoh attached to a show in active development in 2019. But it seemingly stalled until now. In a statement, Yeoh says:
“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long. Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”
Filming will begin later this year, and executive producer Alex Kurtzman has his own statement, saying:
“All the way back in 2017, before the first season of Star Trek: Discovery had even aired, Michelle had the idea to do a spinoff for her character, Philippa Georgiou. She broke new ground as one of the first two women onscreen in the pilot to usher in a new age of Trek, and now, six years later, Section 31 finally arrives on the heels of her latest groundbreaking win. Everyone on Team Trek couldn’t be more thrilled to have our legendary friend return home to us as we expand our storytelling into new and uncharted corners of the Trekverse. Long live Emperor Georgiou; long live Michelle Yeoh!”
This marks the latest new “Star Trek” project in the works, with a teen-centric “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” series also on the way. The news comes as “Star Trek: Picard” is set to air its final episode this week whilst a second season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” arrives in June.
Source: THR
