Star Trek's Newest Movie Isn't Shy About Its Mission: Impossible Influence
According to a new article in Variety, the upcoming "Star Trek" TV movie "Section 31" includes a younger version of Rachel Garrett, a character last seen on the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Yesterday's Enterprise." Garrett will be played by actress Kacey Rohl. After some extremely nerdy number crunching, one will conclude that "Section 31" takes place in the 2320s, which is a weird timeframe. The lead character of "Section 31" is Empress Philippa Georgiou, played by Michelle Yeoh, and the last time we saw her, she had been whisked away from the year 2258 — her "homebase," as it were — and deposited in the year 3188. After encountering a sentient time portal, Georgiou was next delivered to an unspecified point in history "when the Mirror Universe and the Prime Universe were still aligned." Given what we know about "Star Trek," that could be as long ago as AD 1799.
It seems, however, that she was deposited in the 2320s, which, for context, is about 35 years after "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," but about 35 years before "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
"Section 31" will also be a spy series. Trekkies will be able to tell you that Section 31 is the Starfleet equivalent of the CIA, the organization that handles devious subterfuge and secret infiltration missions. "Star Trek" is ordinarily a very open and diplomatic organization, so the very existence of Section 31 is a moral violation of Starfleet principles. It's a good thing Georgiou hails from the notoriously evil Mirror Universe and is capable of committing whatever evils Section 31 might require.
In the same Variety article mentioned above, Yeoh was quoted comparing the new "Section 31" TV movie to "Mission: Impossible." True to the organization, the movie will be all about subterfuge.
Star Trek: Rogue Nation
Yeoh didn't elucidate further, as the story of "Section 31" is still, as of this writing, under wraps. The only description given so far was from a press release in January that read:
"Yeoh will reprise her fan-favorite role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou — a character she played in "Star Trek: Discovery's" first season — who joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she also must face the sins of her past."
The cast will include Rohl, Omari Hardwick, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao, although apart from Rohl, none of their characters have been revealed. It is as yet unknown if any of these actors will be also be playing known, legacy characters. "Section 31" was initially conceived as a TV series, but likely for financial reasons, Paramount condensed it into a single movie event. Its release date also hasn't been released.
We do know that Yeoh's "Mission: Impossible" comparison will guarantee a certain tone. The "Mission: Impossible" film series surrounds impressive stunt sequences, twisty stories about ex-spies trying to undermine the world's governments, and dangerous, palm-sized MacGuffins that people will kill to obtain. Yeoh, a trained martial artist, will no doubt have her share of hand-to-hand fight scenes. Empress Georgiou may be from the evil Mirror Universe but in an episode of "Star Trek: Discovery," she proved that she had a conscience after all. Likely, "Section 31" will feature conflicts wherein she is given unethical orders, and then wrestles with the fact that "old her" would have followed them and "new her" desperately doesn't want to.
Further bulletins as events warrant.