Star Trek: Section 31 launches soon. On Jan. 24, 2025 to be exact. The film will star Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, in what may very likely be the last role of her career with Star Trek. Yeoh is more in-demand than ever before and it's very likely that Section 31 brings an end to her Trekking ways. Especially since they made this film off of the back of a canceled television idea that Yeoh was set to star in.
Same premise, just less expensive to make a film than 10-mini films.
This may work out well for Paramount+, as fans have not received the new film with the warmest of expectations. That doesn't mean the film will fail, though. It has some stuff going for it that may cater to more casual fans of Star Trek, or sci-fi as a whole. So with that, here are three reasons we think Section 31 will be a hit.
A 90's flair
This will make sense in a second. In the 1990s it seemed like every film, video game, book, or other form of media had specific archetypes that stood out against one another. They were overly done, to the point almost of parody but done so in a tone that made you realize this was anything but. Games like WinBack or the original Mission Impossible films really hammered this home. The group of heroes has one key difference motif. Star Trek: Section 31 seems to be bringing back that idea.
Most of the promos we've seen depict the group in some basic scenarios, using minor interactions to speak volumes about who they are. This may seem like a dumbing down of the series, but this may pay off with the non-Star Trek fanbase that could watch the film. It's not a good thing to have simple characters like that (if that's even what the film is doing) but it could pay off.
A shorter engagement cycle
There's a line from the film Road Trip, where Paul Costanzo tells Breckin Meyer that he (Costanzo) could teach a monkey Japanese in 46 hours if he had the right way to relate the material to him. When it comes to getting a story over with an audience, the same concept applies. Any story can be a good story if you have the right amount of time to tell it. That doesn't always mean having three seasons of 10 episodes to tell a story that could fit in a 90-minute movie. I believe that Section 31 can only really work in a 90-minute movie because then you're not left picking apart the elongated storytelling that would likely come with a longer form of entertainment. We don't need to poke any more holes than we need.
A strong cast
I've criticized this film since the beginning. The plot, the look, the weak attempts to copy other, more popular science fiction shows and films. Everything. Everything but the cast. The cast is pure talent. It's one of the best-assembled crews Star Trek has put together in recent years. It's just a shame that they're going to have to get this half-baked premise across the finish line any way they can, instead of getting something more worth their time.