One of the biggest questions surroundingStar Trek: Section 31has been answered. Directed by Olautunde Osunanmi and written by Craig Sweeney,Star Trek: Section 31premieres Friday, June 12, 2025, on Paramount+. The firstStar Trekmovie made for streaming on Paramount+,Star Trek: Section 31is headlined by Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, whose antiheroine, Emperor Philippa Georgiou, rejoins Section 31 in a different era ofStar Trek’s timeline.
Section 31 was created byStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, and its season 6 introduction was immediately controversial.A secret black ops agency seemed to contradict the lofty ideals of the United Federation of Planets.Yet Section 31 was an enduring concept. It exists in the alternate Kelvin Timeline ofStar Trek Into Darkness,and details about its earlier incarnations were revealed in the prequelsStar Trek: Enterprise, set in the 22nd century, andStar Trek: Discovery,which took place in the 23rd century during its first two seasons.
Star Trek Official Video Answers One Of Section 31’s Biggest Questions
Section 31 Was An “Open Secret” For Part Of Its Existence
Star Trek: Deep Space Nineestablished thatSection 31’s existencewas a secret not even Captains like Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) knew about in the 24th century. However, the earlier versions of Section 31 seen inStar Trek: EnterpriseandStar Trek: Discoverysaw Section 31 operate out in the open, and USS Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was well aware of the Federation’s insidious agency.Star Trek’s “A Quick Guide to Section 31” video finally answers this discrepancy:
For much of its existence, Section 31 was an open secret. By the 24th century, as the Federation expanded and peace reigned, Section 31 quietly faded from public view, a ghost story whispered about but rarely seen.
Section 31 has existed since the early days of Starfleet and the founding of the Federation. Characters like Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) ofStar Trek: Enterpriseand theparents of Captain Michael Burnham(Sonequa Martin-Green) were part of Section 31.The greater knowledge of Section 31 within Starfleet seems to coincide with how dangerous the galaxy isand how precarious the Federation is in the 22nd and 23rd centuries compared to the 24th century when"the Federation expanded and peace reigned."
Where Does Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek Movie Fall In Section 31’s Timeline?
Star Trek: Section 31 Takes Place In The 24th Century “Lost Era”
Interestingly,Star Trek: Section 31falls between the known 23rd and 24th centuries ofStar Trek.Michelle Yeoh’sStar Trekstreaming movie takes place at some point in the early 24th century,referred to asStar Trek’s “lost era"before the beginning ofStar Trek: The Next Generation. It’s probable that inStar Trek: Section 31, the black ops division is in the process of fading from public view and perhaps even covering its tracks.
Just a few decades afterStar Trek: Section 31,duringStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Section 31 is unheard of beyond the highest rungs of power within Starfleet and the Federation.
What is known aboutStar Trek: Section 31’s story is Emperor Georgiou lives outside of the Federation and operates a bar under an alias. Alok (Omari Hardwick) and his Section 31 team recruit Georgiou for a secret mission. PerhapsStar Trek: Section 31’s mission is the flashpoint that begins the transition where Section 31 goes from an entity known and feared throughout the galaxy to a"ghost story"only whispered about by those in the know.
