The first season of Star Trek: Discovery offered up several surprises for fans who were eager to feast their eyes on a new Star Trek series for the first time in over a decade. One of those many shocks involved not just an extended trip to the Mirror Universe, which had popped up several times across various Star Trek shows, but the reveal that Mirror Philippa Georgiou was recruited by the super secret Starfleet Intelligence wing, Section 31. And, people loved it so much that it wasn't long before a spinoff was announced which would follow Michelle Yeoh's character as she worked with the organization. Now, it looks like it'll go into production in May.
Rumors began floating around about Section 31 back in November 2018, with official confirmation that the series was being worked on, along with several other new Star Trek series, coming just a few months later in January. So, Trekkies who have loved what we've already gotten to see of the ruler of the Terran Empire, her most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Kronos, Regina Andor, Emperor Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius, have been waiting for quite a while to see her take off on her own covert missions.
According to Space, which spoke with CBS All Access' Star Trek overlord (i.e. Picard executive producer and a Discovery showrunner) Alex Kurtzman at the Picard premiere, he was willing to offer up some info on the buzzed about Section 31. While Kurtzman confirmed that they already had a "great" first script and a writers' room set up, and said that casting for the new show "could be" happening within the next three months, he wouldn't confirm the start to filming. But, information from Geeks WorldWide says that production is set to begin on May 4 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The thought is that filming was actually going to begin earlier, but was pushed back so that Michelle Yeoh could work on her mystery role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings for Marvel. That movie is set to film through May, so it does seem to make sense that, if they are just a few months from completing casting on Section 31, they would go ahead and begin principal photography as soon as Yeoh is available.
All of this, of course, is very exciting, and means that we should start getting images and more teases about what, exactly will happen in Section 31 (and a confirmation on that title) before too much longer (my bet is on some big reveal at this year's San Diego Comic-Con). It also means that the series could begin airing as early as a year from now, and while that might seem like a long time to wait, remember that Picard has only just begun and we still have Season 3 of Discovery coming at some point in 2020.
Section 31 first showed up in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and while the division had originally been an important part of Starfleet Intelligence, by the time viewers were introduced to it, Section 31 was considered a rogue, clandestine organization which was just fine with breaking all kinds of Starfleet rules and regulations in the name of keeping the populace safe. It was also just as secretive as ever, with only those in the organization, and a handful of others outside of it, knowing of its existence. People generally don't find out about Section 31 unless they try to recruit you, which is exactly what happened to Mirror Georgiou.
Section 31 is set to be a fun, exciting show that will give Trekkies something they've never seen with previous shows set in the universe, not to mention the characters we've followed so far, so be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for the latest on the new Michelle Yeoh series. In the Meantime, you can catch up with Jean-Luc Picard on his eponymous show right now, and see what else you can watch in the coming weeks with our 2020 winter / spring premiere guide!
