The first TV film from the Star Trek franchise i.e. Section 31 opened to overwhelming negative reviews from fans. The Michelle Yeoh starrer saw her reprise her role as Philippa Georgiou in the film. Set between The Original Series and The Next Generation, the film was criticized for its incomplete plot and direction.
While the franchise has long moved away from Gene Roddenberry’s rules and regulations for Star Trek, executive producer Alex Kurtzman has defended the film for adhering to the creator’s ultimate vision. The producer mentioned that the setting and its direction were in line with Roddenberry’s intention with Star Trek.
Alex Kurtzman stands for Star Trek: Section 31 despite negative reviews
Alex Kurtzman has been working non-stop in the Star Trek franchise since the recent surge of revivals and reboots. After co-writing the scripts for the Kelvin timeline films Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness, Kurtzman moved on to the space where the franchise was meant to play out. He has been in the captain’s chair for several of the recent spinoffs.
While he only has an executive producer credit on Star Trek: Section 31, the filmmaker has defended the negatively-received film for one reason. Original creator Gene Roddenberry’s primary rules and vision for the sci-fi franchise was to have a hopeful and more developed future for humanity.
Talking about the criticisms received by recent revivals for straying away from Roddenberry’s original vision, Kurtzman mentioned that the recent shows have been more adhering to the creator’s optimistic vision. He said to The Mary Sue,
If you’re a true fan, I think you’ll recognize that every show, every movie, everything is always trying to reinforce Roddenberry’s ultimate vision of optimism…The thing that’s really exciting about Section 31 is this notion that Starfleet as we love it actually can’t exist without the people who work in the shadows to keep it safe.
Kurtzman mentioned that they made the film more in line with the original Star Trek by giving more importance to the people working in the shadows in the Starfleet enterprise and highlighting that they are the reason the enterprise even gets to operate smoothly.
Alex Kurtzman teased a potential Star Trek 4 movie in the Kelvin Timeline
While Star Trek: Beyond has found some acceptance in the community, the box office performance of the film at the time seems to have put a potential fourth film in limbo. Several directors tried their hands at the elusive film, with one attempt even being made by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. However, nothing materialized.
Among growing questions about what the status of a four-quel is, Alex Kurtzman gave some hints as to where the film was at. It may not be as optimistic as Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future, but it may be headed there. Kurtzman said,
I wouldn’t be the one to ask. I’m not doing the movies right now. Here’s what I know: I know the cast would love to come back. I adore all of them, and there’s always another story to tell.
While the Kurtzman-produced shows have proved that Star Trek still has many stories to tell, the prospect of a fourth film is sure to go either way.
Star Trek: Section 31 is available to stream on Paramount+.
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