Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: alex kurtzman, Olatunde Osunsanmi, section 31, star trek

Section 31: Dir. Osunsanmi, EP Kurtzman on Series-to-Film & Future

Star Trek: Section 31 Dir. Olatunde Osunsanmi and EP Alex Kurtzman discussed developing the film, easter eggs, and what the future may hold.

The "Lost" era of Star Trek, which takes place between 1994's Generations and The Next Generation, remains one of the franchise's biggest unexplored terrains. Director Olatunde Osunsanmi and executive producer Alex Kurtzman are trying to fulfill that curiosity in the Paramount+ Discovery spinoff film Section 31, which follows former Terran Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), who's happy to live a quieter life with her independence under a new alias as a nightclub owner when Starfleet's secret organization seeks her out with a mission to work with her squad to save the galaxy. The film also dives into her Mirror Universe and past regrets as part of her journey of redemption. Osunsani and Kurtzman spoke to Bleeding Cool about how they wanted to frame Georgiou's story, transitioning it from series to film; if there were faces of Section 31's past they considered bringing back like Luther Sloan, played by William Sadler on Deep Space Nine; and if it could continue without Yeoh for any future film.

Section 31 Director Olatunde Osunsanmi and EP Alex Kurtzman on Crafting the Journey

Bleeding Cool: When developing 'Section 31' as a series before it became the film, what were the biggest sacrifices you guys had to make as far as time constraints you could do only the series but couldn't do for a film?

Kurtzman: In a funny way, it was a blessing in disguise because we always wanted to tell the story of Georgiou's redemption, right? It was like she was Clint Eastwood in a Star Trek story. She had the sins of her past that come back to haunt her, and then she must decide whether she's going to redeem herself. What you're seeing over the course of the movie was originally planned for probably the first season arc for the character. The truth is that there's something wonderful about being able to tell it in a more compressed period because you get to the point a lot faster. I don't think we made big sacrifices. Things ultimately worked out the way they worked out, and we were happy at the end of the day that we were able to tell the story the way we told it.

With Section 31 and its whole history, was there any thought about bringing in some of the characters Luther Sloan into the film or other Easter Eggs from the Star Trek franchise's past?

Kurtzman: Everything was on the table in the early stage, but once we decided on a timeline and once we decided on a specific story, I believe that throwing in Easter Eggs just to have them there is the opposite offense. It can piss you off, so if a character is in the story, it's because they must be there, not because we wanted to throw them in. Every character you see is either an organic reference to something appropriate to the timeline or, like in the case of Rachel Garrett, an interesting character because you hadn't seen Rachel at that particular time in her life before she became a captain. The idea that you could tell a micro story within a larger story about something she learned along the way that made her a better captain, that kind of thing was exciting.

Osunsanmi: When I read the script, it was interesting to me because you mentioned Sloan, right? The closest proximity to Sloan would have been Leland (Alan van Sprang) from 'Discovery,' right? There isn't a Sloan character in Section 31, and I think that's okay. It's nice to meet different people in Section 31, and that's what intrigued me about the Craig Sweeny script when I read it.

When it comes to continuing Section 31 beyond the film, would it depend on Michelle's availability to remain the torchbearer, or is it possible somebody else might be able to take the reins?

Kurtzman: No, I think Michelle's said she would love to come back and do more, so if we have the opportunity to do that, then that's absolutely on the table.

Section 31, which also stars Omari Hardwick, Sam Richardson, Robert Kazinsky, Kacey Rohl, Sven Ruygrok, James Hiroyuki Liao, and Humberly González is available on Paramount+.

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