While the big screen Star Trek franchise remains parked in development dry dock (with at least two takes on the venerable space adventures still actively jostling for attention), the TV incarnations are keeping the Federation flag flying. And as the first film spin-off, Star Trek: Section 31 starts shooting with Michelle Yeoh (full name: Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh) in the lead, the cast list is swelling. Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez and James Hiroyuki Liao have all boarded the streaming title.
Originally developed as a series, the idea was then announced as a film last April with Yeoh still aboard.
The story will see Georgiou – an alternate universe version of the Captain first seen in Star Trek: Discovery's initial episode – join a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past.
Section 31, a special intelligence service, was originally introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Georgiou was approached about the organisation while on the Klingon home world in a deleted scene from Season 1.
Craig Sweeney wrote the film, with Discovery veteran Olatunde Osunsanmi in the director's chair. "And we’re off to the races! Thrilled to report principal photography has started on Star Trek: Section 31," says executive producer Alex Kurtzman. "We welcome our incredible cast of new characters as they join our beloved Michelle Yeoh on her next wild adventure across the Trek universe."
Star Trek: Section 31 will premiere on Paramount+ but a date has yet to be revealed.