Michelle Yeoh’sStar Trek: Section 31can’t act as a continuation ofStar Trek: Discovery’s clever setup for the infamous covert organization. The shadowy section of Starfleet called Section 31 was a huge part ofStar Trek: Discovery, so much so that Section 31 is getting its own movie. The agency has been a part ofStar Treksince the 90s, when it was introduced inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. Over the last few decades, Section 31 has played a vital role in manyStar TrekTV shows, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
AsStar Trek’s first streaming movie,Star Trek: Section 31is under a lot of pressure to deliver qualityStar Trekcontent in a brand-new format for the franchise. Luckily,Star Trek: Section 31’s castis led by Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh and highlights a phenomenal roster of actors. Yeoh reprises her role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, whose character inStar Trek: Discoverywas vital to Section 31’s narrative.Star Trek: Discoveryseason 2 ended by revamping the organization, but several factors preventStar Trek: Section 31from picking up where it left off.
Section 31 Movie Can’t Follow Up Star Trek: Discovery’s Set Up
Star Trek: Section 31 takes place long after Star Trek: Discovery
Over the last decade, theStar Trektimelinehas grown in more ways than one, and it’s certainly become more complicated. With limited details surrounding the film, many fans are wondering when theStar Trek: Section 31movie is actually setand where it fits into that timeline. While no exact in-universe date has been released,Star Trek: Section 31takes place, at least partially, in the 24th century"lost era"several decades after the end ofStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2. At that time, control of Section 31 was handed to Commander Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif), and Starfleet promised an overhaul of the thus far rather problematic organization.
Star Trek: Section 31will struggle to pick up exactly whereStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2 ended.
Since it will take place so long after the agency’s overhaul,Star Trek: Section 31will struggle to followStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2, even though the end of the season set up the perfect opportunity to do so. If the events ofDiscovery’s season 2 finale are mentioned in the TV movie, they will have to betreated as history rather than recent events. This dilemma complicates the timeline of the film, but it also allowsStar Trek: Section 31to create its own version of what happened to Section 31 since we saw it last.
Section 31 Still Isn’t A Secret In Star Trek’s Next Movie
What originally started as a covert operation isn’t quite a secret yet
Trouble with the timeline isn’t the only canon adversaryStar Trek: Section 31faces as it nears its 2025 release date. Beginning withStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,every known member of Section 31has almost always been depicted asStar Trek’s version of spies because the organization is a secret. In theStar Trek: Section 31trailer, however, the agency doesn’t seem to have become a secret yet, which means the overhaul depicted inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2 hasn’t — or wasn’t meant to — bring Section 31 underground after all.
The original concept for the secret organization Section 31 was created byStar Trek: Deep Space NineExecutive Producer Ira Steven Behr.
SinceStar Trek: Section 31promises to providea different look atStar Trek, changes to canon might be necessary. Even without canon changes,Section 31can still bridge the gap betweenStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2 and the agency’s beginnings inStar Trek: Deep Space Nineby introducing more secretive operations and covert narratives. Considering the dark and militant portrayal of Section 31 inStar Trek: Into Darkness, there is a lot of potential forStar Trek: Section 31to carve a new future for the espionage agency rather than rely onStar Trek: Discovery’s post-season 2 set up.
