As the dust settles onStar Trek: Section 31, it feels safe to say the newestStar Trekmovie was, broadly,a bigStar Trekdisappointment. For one,Section 31buckedStar Trekmovie tradition by not centering on a starship. For another, despite focusing on the morally gray Starfleet agency, Section 31, the actual actions of Emperor Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and othercharacters inSection 31weren’t actually morally complex. But from the beginning tothe ending ofSection 31, the biggest problem for the movie was how its fight-choreography-centered filming made it feel more like a generic action movie than aStar Trekmovie.
But the fact thatSection 31was an unsatisfying movie does not necessarily mean bad things forStar Trekas a franchise. In 2024,Star Trek: Lower Decksconcluded on a high note.Another fan favorite,Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,has been renewed for two more seasons, and the first is expected this year.And Paramount also gave the upcoming show,Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,a renewal for two seasons. Finally, on the movie front, there is a planned movie focusing on Starfleet’s origins in the works, which could redeemStar Trekmovies for the current era ofTrek.
Star Trek History Proves A Disappointing Movie Is Usually Followed By A Good One
The Most Successful Star Trek Movie Came After One Of Star Trek’s Biggest Flops
Counterintuitively, some of the greatest movies inStar Trekhistory came on the heels ofStar Trek’s greatest film flops. In the 56 years sinceStar Trek: The Original Serieswent off the air in 1969,Star Trekhas released 14 movies.Up untilSection 31, those movies have all been either direct continuations of or spinoffs from existingStar TrekTV shows, featuring the same characters. To the extent thatSection 31is a continuation of anything, it isStar Trek: Discovery,where Emperor Georgiou was first introduced.
1979
$82,258,456
1982
$78,912,963
1984
$76,471,046
1986
$109,713,132
1989
$52,210,049
1991
$74,888,996
1994
$75,671,125
1996
$92,027,888
1998
$70,187,658
2002
$43,254,409
2009
$257,730,019
2013
$228,778,661
2016
$158,848,340
2025
No box office release
Star Trekmovies have some pretty high highs, but also some pretty low lows. BeforeSection 31, theStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie,Star Trek: Nemesiswas ranked as the worstStar Trekmovie.Nemesiscame out in 2002, immediately before the highest grossingStar Trekmovie,Star Trek(2009).Similarly, whileStar Trek: The Motion Picturewas far from a flop, in the grand scheme ofStar Trekmovies it’s by no means the most iconic. But its direct sequel,Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, is the greatestStar Trekmovie of all time.
The Star Trek Origins Movie Has A More Interesting Premise Than Section 31
And It’s Well Connected To The Rest Of Star Trek
On top of the general trend for goodStar Trekmovies to come close on the heels of disappointing ones,the nextStar Trekmovie also has an awesome premise.Right now, we don’t know much about the next movie in the franchise, but what we do know seems super interesting.We know the nextStar Trekprequel movie is going to be set on Earth, for the most part, and we know that it is going to tell the story of how humanity first began interacting with alien life.
Star Trek: Section 31 Movie Sequel: Everything We Know
Star Trek: Section 31 is Paramount+’s first Star Trek streaming movie, but will Michelle Yeoh headline another movie as Emperor Georgiou?
That story is so interesting, that there is already aStar Trekmovie and TV show addressing it:Star Trek: First ContactandStar Trek: Enterprise. But there are 88 years in betweenFirst ContactandEnterprise, and that is an 88-year gap that this new movie could fill with an incredible story without being athreat toStar Trekcanon. WhereasFirst ContactandEnterpriselargely focus on events in space,the fact that this new movie will be planet-side by and large means that it will have a completely new narrative scope.
Setting this new movie on Earth all but guarantees we will see a return to a more diplomatic era ofTrek.
One of the greatest strengths ofThe Next Generationis Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) unfailing dedication to diplomacy and the philosophical and political antics that follow from it. Setting this new movie on Earth all but guarantees we will see a return to a more diplomatic era ofTrek. If one of the greatest shortcomings ofStar Trek: Section 31was that it felt too much like a generic action movie, this comingStar Trekfilm is primed to make an epic comeback.
