Emperor Georgiou fans, it is officially our time. Star Trek: Section 31, which stars Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, has begun filming. The movie—a spinoff of sorts from Star Trek: Discovery—will eventually appear on Paramount Plus. The film will follow Georgiou as she joins the titular secret division of Starfleet, which protects the United Federation of Planets. But being that she’s a temperamental former emperor, naturally she must also “face the sins of her past.”
Paramount finally announced that the movie will, in fact, star people other than Yeoh. Omari Hardwick (Power), Kacey Rohl (The Magicians), Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso), Sven Ruygrok (One Piece), Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim), Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia), and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry) have come on board the great ship Star Trek.
Hardwick is probably best known for the series Power, but SFF fans may recognize him from Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead or Boots Riley’s brilliant Sorry to Bother You. Rohl is the name I’m most excited about here; she was incredible as The Magicians’ prickly Marina, and also excellent on both Hannibal and Arrow. Sam Richardson faced shapeshifters in Werewolves Within and has done a ton of voice work, including roles on Harley Quinn and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Kazinsky is, depending on whether your tastes run to robots or vampires, best known for being a pain in the ass in Pacific Rim, or Sookie Stackhouse’s creepy love interest on True Blood. James Hiroyuki Liao appears in the upcoming Orphan Black: Echoes, while Humberly Gonzalez appeared in two episodes of the original Orphan Black.
In short, the filmmakers have assembled an impressive cast of stars and actors-on-the-rise. Star Trek: Section 31 is written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, a producer and frequent director on Star Trek: Discovery. The movie is expected to arrive next year.