Star Trek: Section 31 Teaser Trailer Reaction
Paramount has unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming ‘Star Trek: Section 31’ movie starring Michelle Yeoh, which will release on Paramount+. It’s a cloak and dagger esque moving, with Yeoh’s character, Emperor Philippa Georgiou, joining this secretive division of Starfleet to protect the United Federation of Planets while also facing the secrets of her past. It looks like a spy thriller, learning into the darker side of the ‘Star Trek’ universe.
The trailer opens with what looks to be a flashback to Georgiou’s early life, with voiceover claiming that the emperor can only be loyal to their duty, which likely means that early on Georgiou did a heinous act in the name of her empire. This is added to as she walks through blood. It’s something to establish the darkness of her past, which ls a central part to this story.
At a glamorous bar, more context to Georgiou’s reign is given, claiming that she’s a tyrant who has happily murdered millions. It’ll be interesting to see how the film will make this character likable, after all willing to sacrifice one’s morality to rule is quite heavily frowned on. The glitzy bar evokes the tone of ‘James Bond’, a feeling that can be felt throughout the trailer.
The fact that this is a Paramount+ movie doesn’t like it will constrain the film in terms of its action, as the next few shots show several different action set pieces, both in the ground and in space. Though this does beg the question of how secretive Section 31 really is if it keeps going around blowing things up and assaulting people in bars. Hopefully the film has an explanation for this.
It does feel like this film is being rebellious to the overall ‘Star Trek’ brand, with its morally dubious characters, a black ops team going around furthering the goals of the state in secret, it’s something that the ‘Star Trek franchise doesn’t do. It’s something that could expand the franchise, potentially making way for a whole host of spin-offs and more.
This rebellious feel is felt in the cast, especially Yeoh, with her character at the end being called a bad bitch and saying that she’s got to keep it lively. It’s attempting to capture the energy of ‘Suicide Squad’ or ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, but it misses the mark, especially for what’s supposed to be an elite black ops team.
This being a Paramount+ exlcusive does raise some significant questions, particularly over viewership. It’s not a well subscribed streaming service, and with Paramount going through a merger process, it’s an open question whether Paramount+ will even survive. But even if Paramount+ was a healthy service, the last ‘Star Trek’ movie to release in cinemas was in September 2016 so fans haven’t had the chance to see their franchise in cinemas for nearly eight years and counting. It’s baffling why this decision has been made.
Overall, this trailer introduces fans to a new side to the ‘Star Trek’ universe, one that wants to rebel from the norm. It’s flamboyant in what it wants to do, attempting to make light a darker and more serious evil, both with Georgiou and Section 31 itself. It remains to be seen how well this works when the film releases next year.
