As of this writing, Trekkies have not been given too many particulars concerning the upcoming TV film “Star Trek: Part 31.” A current teaser trailer revealed rather a lot, nevertheless. As was recognized, Part 31 is the shady, black ops division of Starfleet, tasked with infiltrating harmful crime lairs or manipulating native politics to their very own ends. They’re the morally compromised arm of “Star Trek.” Within the upcoming movie, the division is led by Empress Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), who was beforehand a recurring character on “Star Trek: Discovery.” Georgiou, to recap, was rescued from the evil “mirror” universe the place she was a vicious tyrant who murdered tens of millions. Now, after a slight redemption arc, she’s been put answerable for a cadre of spies.
Mentioned characters are a ragtag group of freelance badasses. The “Part 31” solid contains Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao.
Sam Richardson additionally seems within the film as a member of Georgiou’s staff. The “I Assume You Ought to Go away” and “Hocus Pocus 2” actor talked about his “Star Trek” function on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Professional” podcast (by way of Trek Film), disclosing that he’s enjoying a Chameloid — a shape-shifting species not seen within the sci-fi franchise because the 1991 movie “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Nation.” One won’t recall the species’ title, however one will virtually definitely recall the character of Martia, performed by supermodel Iman. Martia was a personality James Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) encountered after they had been thrown right into a Klingon jail positioned on a distant, arctic planet. She used her shape-shifting skills to assist Kirk and McCoy escape jail, earlier than in the end revealing herself to be in league with the movie’s evil conspirators.
Nonetheless, regardless of them being members of the identical species, Richardson was a little baffled as to why his character did not select to appear like Iman.
Chameloids are coming again to Star Trek
Aside from their look in “Star Trek VI,” little is thought about Chameloids. All we all know is they will shapeshift into different humanoids and completely imitate their voices. In “The Undiscovered Nation,” for instance, Martia transforms into Kirk at one level, leading to a scene the place Shatner has a fistfight with himself. Chameloids are additionally one in all many shapeshifting species in “Star Trek,” an inventory that features the Founders (the Changelings from “Deep House 9”), Allassomorphs (just like the one Wesley Crusher fell in love with on “The Subsequent Era”), Vendorians (the squid monster from “Star Trek: The Animated Sequence”), and Devidians (those from the “Subsequent Era” episode “Time’s Arrow”). There are additionally a number of species who alter their look utilizing psychic manipulation or holograms. On “Star Trek,” you’ll be able to by no means actually ensure who you are speaking to.
Sam Richardson is conscious he is enjoying the primary Chameloid to look on “Star Trek” since 1991, and his character shares one widespread function with Martia: they each have vibrant yellow eyes. As he put it:
“So I play a physicist shapeshifter, what’s referred to as a Chameloid. That is the second time there’s ever been a Chameloid in ‘Star Trek.’ The primary time was Iman in ‘Star Trek VI’ […] It is really very humorous. With Iman, it is like this can be a shapeshifter, you need to look good, [so you say] ‘Yeah, I will make myself Iman.’ After which for me, it is like, ‘Oh good, I will make myself Sam Richardson.’ I will settle for it.”
It hasn’t been revealed in print but, however Richardson famous that his character’s title seems like “Quasi.” The truth that his character is a physicist additionally reveals that “Part 31” might boast a typical “Star Trek” model crew with a scientist, an engineer, a physician, a diplomat, a pilot, a safety officer, and a command officer. The film is not due till 2025, nevertheless, so this should stay within the realm of hypothesis in the intervening time.