Star Trek: Section 31 recently wrapped production, and Variety has the first look at Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou in the upcoming Paramount+ movie. The sprawling cover story (which is well worth a read) also spills on the surprising return of a character who hasn’t been seen in over thirty years.

The Star Trek: Section 31 first look features Michelle Yeoh as the morally dubious Georgiou having a word with someone with a few cybernetic enhancements. The last we saw of the character was on Star Trek: Discovery when she stepped through a portal to somewhere in the past. The exact timeframe remains unknown, but thanks to the addition of one particular Star Trek character, we may have a much better idea.

Section 31 will include a younger version of Rachel Garrett, the future captain of the USS Enterprise C, who was introduced in Yesterday’s Enterprise, one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The character was briefly seen as a statue in Star Trek: Picard but hasn’t been seen in the flesh since that TNG episode. She’ll be played by Kacey Rohl (Hannibal) in Section 31. The addition of Rachel Garrett puts the timeframe of Section 31 somewhere between the TOS movies and the beginning of TNG, an era which hasn’t been explored all that much.

The inclusion of a character like Garrett might not mean much to newcomers, but franchise producer Alex Kurtzman knows they can’t forget about long-time fans. “You cannot create new fans to the exclusion of old fans,” Kurtzman said. “You must serve your primary fan base first and you must keep them happy. That is one of the most important steps to building new fans.“

Section 31 screenwriter Craig Sweeny knows that the black-ops organization has been controversial with fans since its introduction in Deep Space Nine. “The concept is almost antagonistic to some of the values of Star Trek,” Sweeny said. “Famously, there’s a spot for everybody in Roddenberry’s utopia, so I was like, ‘Well, who would be the people who don’t quite fit in?’ I didn’t want to make the John le Carré version, where you’re in the headquarters and it’s backbiting and shades of gray. I wanted to do the people who were at the edges, out in the field. These are not people who necessarily work together the way you would see on a ‘Star Trek’ bridge.“

Should the movie prove to be a success, Michelle Yeoh has said that she’d be down for a sequel, but its success could mean more streaming movies in the franchise, including a possible follow-up to Star Trek: Picard.

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