The cast of the upcoming “Star Trek: Section 31,” a Paramount+ live-action film starring Michelle Yeoh (“Everything, Everywhere, All At Once”), Sam Richardson (“The Afterparty”), Omari Hardwick (“Power”) and Casey Roehl (“The Magicians”), stopped by diverse Studio, presented by Google TV, at San Diego Comic-Con 2024.
Richardson, Hardwicke and Rolle were joined by director Olatunde Osunsanmi and executive producer Alex Kurtzman to talk about the film's upcoming stellar project.
A spin-off of the Star Trek: Discovery series, the film follows Philippa Georgiou (Yu) as she works for Section 31, a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets.
“There’s a lot to the movie. It’s action, drama, comedy, all in equal parts,” said Richardson, who plays Quasi, a shape-shifting creature. “So it’s not just Quasi being funny, everyone in the movie is funny, everyone is serious, and the stakes are there for everyone. So it’s really a well-rounded piece.”
Hardwicke added that the film was a unique mix of genres. “There's still that marriage, that mix of formality that we grew up watching, and yet it still has that kind of dirty, sexy edge to it – where there's humor allowed. That was amazing to us,” he said.
Kurtzman, who received the 2024 Peabody Institutional Award for “Star Trek,” spoke about that moment and how he felt the “weight” of the franchise’s legacy as he was surrounded by franchise alumni LeVar Burton, Jeri Ryan, Patrick Stewart, Scott Bakula, Wilson Cruz, and more during the ceremony.
“That was the most amazing part. I looked around and saw someone from almost every cast member, and I felt the weight of the legacy and the connection between everyone,” he said. “It was really profound. The feeling of seeing multiple generations of actors come together for their own unique reasons, and connecting about what it means to be in this franchise. I hate the word franchise. It’s like we all work at McDonald’s, but it’s a family, right?”
Although Yuh was unable to join the Comic-Con cast, she was described as someone who “motivates” the team and a “great performer.”
“It was amazing to see that, because despite all the different iterations, Michelle was so committed to doing it. Even after winning the Oscar,” Kurtzman said. “She doubled down, and we ended up being able to move forward in the window of time that we had.”
Watch the full interview above to see the cast members talk about their characters, their favorite Star Trek episodes and what's on each of their watch lists.
