Michelle Yeoh has returned to the world of Star Trek with Star Trek: Section 31. The Academy Award winner reprises her role of Philippa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery but with a twist, as she is showing face not as the cheerful Starfleet officer but as her sinister Mirror Universe counterpart, one that rules over the Terran Empire as Emperor.

Star Trek: Section 31 is the latest high-profile project in Yeoh’s filmography, a catalog that has exploded since her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once secured her Best Actress at 2022’s Oscars. Yeoh has appeared in blockbuster franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Wicked, lent her vocal talents to the likes of Minions and Transformers, and is set to venture to Pandora in a future Avatar installment.

In celebration of Star Trek: Section 31‘s premiere on Paramount+, ScreenRant spoke with Yeoh to discuss what prompted her to join the Star Trek franchise in the first place, how she personally fought for her return to the universe after being killed off in Star Trek: Discovery, and whether or not Philippa Georgiou is on a quest for redemption in Section 31.

Michelle Yeoh Says Joining Star Trek Was A “No-Brainer”

“This character is too fun to be kept in the dark…”

ScreenRant: You got roped into the Star Trek world with Star Trek: Discovery, and now you’re coming back into the world with Georgiou here in this movie, Star Trek: Section 31. What drew you to Star Trek in the first place with Discovery and what made you want to come back for 31?

Michelle Yeoh: Oh wow. Very good. I always knew the world of Star Trek, the world of hope, where we all lived together as a species with others. It was always a fun thing for me to watch, and I always wanted to be Spock, the funny eyebrow. And so when they approached me to do Star Trek: Discovery, it was like a no-brainer. Of course I wanted to do it, but then I did say, ‘Oh, please don’t tell me you’re going to kill me off.’ And they go, ‘Yes, you’re a great, captain of the USS Shenzhou, but in Episode 2, I think the Klingons kill you because it has to leave such a dramatic impact on Michael Burnham. But then you come back.’ And you look at them, you’re like, ‘Really, guys? Come on.’ But when I read the script and the way she came back, the first sentence when you see her is like, Don’t you bow to your Emperor?’ I was like, ‘My gosh.’

Even before we finished or launched Discovery, I had gone to Alex Kurtzman and I said, ‘Spin-off, Section 31, Georgiou,’ because she was such a fascinating character. As an actor, that’s what you are constantly looking for. Characters like that, that are flawed, that are sophisticated, heavily nuanced. She’s bada–, she’s a b—h from hell, and she’s funny without trying to be funny, right? And then you get all these amazing action sequences that you can do with Chris McGuire and his stunt team. And with the costumes, because in Discovery we were part of the Federation, so then you had to be in uniform, but afterwards, now in Section 31, she is the proprietor of the Baraam. She’s a fashion diva. But remember Philippa Georgiou is an inventor. She has time now on her hands to make all these weapons on her that is incorporated in her clothes thanks to Gersha Phillips’ amazing costumes. This character is just too fun to be kept in the dark.

Is Philippa Georgiou On A Quest For Redemption?

“You don’t have friends as the emperor…”

Georgiou is so fascinating here because we learn about what it took for her to become emperor, the sin that she had to commit. Do you think she’s on a quest for redemption or do you think she’s not bothered by it?

Michelle Yeoh: I think now because she’s been in the prime universe where she was sort of saturated with love and compᴀssion by the Discovery crew, which she hated at the beginning because it was like she had no friends. Just think about it. You don’t have friends as the emperor of the Terran Universe because everybody’s out to kill everyone just to get ahead and to survive.

Michelle Yeoh Shares SPOILERS Insight On Philippa Georgiou’s Mindset

“She has fun while taking that opportunity…”

Warning: The rest of this answer contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Section 31!

Michelle Yeoh: In her mindset at that point, it was like she had no thought of redemption. Does she care about it? Absolutely not. But now, flash-forwards to her stepping through that portal and being told, you’re actually good, there’s something good in you, and you are given a second chance. So I think she wants to [find redemption], because in her heart of hearts, she has discovered humanity. She’s learned how good that can be. She fights against it sometimes, but she has fun with it. She has fun poking holes in people who are do-gooders and saying, ‘Really, are you really that good?’ So in that way, now she is given a second chance when Section 31 comes calling. I mean, she knows Section 31. She’s had dabblings with them before in Discovery, so she understands that this whole lot, they’re all misfits. They’re all trying to prove something, and probably they’re not very good at it. So she thought, ‘Well, I’ll teach you how to do this.’ So she has fun while taking that opportunity to maybe do some good.

About Star Trek: Section 31

In the movie, Michelle Yeoh reprises her fan-favorite role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou – a character she played in STAR TREK: DISCOVERY’s first season – who joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she also must face the sins of her past. Written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, STAR TREK: SECTION 31 is executive produced by Alex Kurtzman, Craig Sweeny, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth and Michelle Yeoh and is produced by CBS Studios in ᴀssociation with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Stay tuned for our other Star Trek: Section 31 interviews with…

• Director Olatunde Osunsanmi & Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman
• Omari Hardwick & Kacey Rohl
• Rob Kazinsky & Sven Ruygrok
• Star Trek: Section 31 red carpet

Source: ScreenRant Plus