Star Trek franchise producer Alex Kurtzman says he and his team are still "very excited" about the long-gestating Section 31 spinoff series starring newly minted Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh.
During a recent interview with SFX Magazine, Kurtzman was asked if he could speak to any live-action plans for Kate Mulgrew's Admiral Kathryn Janeway. "I can't," he replied. "But yes, what I can tell you is we do have plans..." When asked if those plans were for Janeway specifically, Kurtzman added, "No, we have plans for new things. I'm not speaking specifically about anything. But yes, there's quite a few plans, and you'll hear about them soon. We will continue to expand the Star Trek universe, absolutely."
Kurtzman was then asked if said expansion plans include Yeoh's Section 31 spinoff. "I can tell you that we're still very excited about Section 31," he said. "And that's all I will say." Yeoh made her Star Trek debut as Captain Philippa Georgiou in the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery, which Kurtzman co-created with Bryan Fuller. Discovery premiered on Paramount+ (then known as CBS All Access) in 2017. While Captain Georgiou was killed off very early into the show's run, Yeoh returned to play Emperor Philippa Georgiou -- the Starfleet captain's Mirror-Universe counterpart -- starting with the latter half of Season 1 in 2018. Yeoh continued to play Mirror Georgiou on Discovery through Season 3 in 2020.
Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek Spinoff Has Had a Long Development
In January 2019, plans were announced for Yeoh to reprise her role as Mirror Georgiou in order to lead a Discovery spinoff series focusing on Section 31, which is essentially Starfleet's black-ops division. Kurtzman would return as an executive producer, with Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt being tapped as showrunners. Shortly thereafter, however, now-former Paramount exec Julie McNamara hinted that new Star Trek shows -- such as Yeoh's spinoff -- would not debut until existing ones ended. "Some of these [series] can be considered as replacements as opposed to additions," McNamara said in 2019.
Paramount+ appeared to reach its Star Trek cap with five concurrent shows: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. However, it has long been known that the currently-ongoing third season of Picard would be the show's last. Additionally, it recently came to light that Discovery would also be coming to an end with its upcoming fifth season, which is expected to bow in 2024. So, replacement shows could potentially be prepping for takeoff. In addition to Yeoh's Section 31 spinoff, a series focusing on Starfleet Academy is also in development.
As for Yeoh's spinoff in particular, updates have been few and far between since the series was first announced four years ago. Nevertheless, the powers that be seem confident that it's only a matter of time before the show sees the light of day. "Yes, we are still in development on Section 31, so there will be more news on that soon," Paramount+ executive Nicole Clemens said in February 2022. Kurtzman's most recent comments come just two months after fellow Paramount exec Tanya Giles confirmed that the series was still in the works as of January 2023. "It's still in development," Giles said.
In the meantime, as previously stated, Picard is in the middle of its third and final season, while current franchise mothership Discovery is gearing up for its fifth and final season. Additionally, Strange New Worlds Season 2 is in the can and awaiting release. Strange New Worlds has also been confirmed to be returning for Season 3, with cameras set to start rolling soon. Finally, the animated shows Lower Decks and Prodigy are expected to debut Season 4 and Season 2, respectively, sometime this year.
Source: SFX Magazine