Section 31 teaser trailer starring Michelle Yeoh sets phasers to stun as the film gets in formation at Comic-Con

Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Philippa Georgiou is a “bad bitch” in Paramount’s Star Trek: Section 31 teaser trailer

The surprises keep coming at Paramount‘s Star Trek Universe as the time-honored sci-fi franchise takes San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H by storm! In addition to multiple announcements for Star Trek: Brave New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and Star Trek: Below Decks, a Star Trek: Section 31 teaser trailer is here to inspire Trekkies to “get in formation” as Michelle Yeoh does her best to come off as a “bad bitch” of the cosmos.

The project stars Michelle Yeoh (The Brothers Sun, Everything Everywhere All At Once) as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, who made her Star Trek debut in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery. Hailing from the Mirror Universe, Yeoh’s commanding character is an agent of the Federation spy group Section 31. Trekkies have waited years for Emperor Philippa Georgiou to return to the beloved sci-fi soap opera, and it’s finally happening! In Star Trek: Section 31, Emperor Philippa Georgiou must protect the United Federation of Planets while confronting the sins of her past.

The trailer is set to Beyoncé’s “Formation,” days after presidential hopeful Kamala Harris declared the Queen B’s Lemonade track her battle cry for the upcoming election. The Star Trek: Section 31 teaser trailer gives edgy vibes compared to other Star Trek fare. The preview has attitude, a stylish, almost Blade Runner meets Cyberpunk 2099 look, and a cast of misfit characters played by actors Omari Hardwick, Sam Richardson, and Kacey Rohl.

Section 31 will include a younger version of Rachel Garrett, the future captain of the USS Enterprise C, 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 that hasn’t been explored much.

Star Trek: 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 in March. “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.”

Are you excited about Star Trek: Section 31? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.