Star Trek: Section 31 Proves Marvel Is Influencing Franchise For The Worse
Star Trek is a franchise where characters frequently travel through time, and as a lifelong fan, I’m starting to see the appeal. The new teaser trailer for Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 movie just dropped, and I don’t just hate it…I hate how old it makes me feel. I’ve apparently reached the advanced age where I loudly complain, “This isn’t my Star Trek,” and based on how much this trailer tries to bite Marvel’s style, it’s clear that Paramount has no idea what fans even want to see.
Before I fully dissect all the ways that Star Trek has seemingly turned Section 31 into a Made-for-TV Marvel ripoff, let’s talk about the good parts of the trailer. Your mileage may vary, but I enjoy the Emperor Georgiou character and the Mirror Universe, and I’m excited to learn a bit more about both. Furthermore, considering we know a bit about how Section 31 operates in the 24th century, it will be interesting to learn more about this shadowy organization during the Wild West days of Starfleet, beyond what we saw in Season 2 of Discovery.
I’ve apparently reached the advanced age where I loudly complain, “This isn’t my Star Trek,” and based on how much this trailer tries to bite Marvel’s style, it’s clear that Paramount has no idea what fans even want to see.
With that out of the way, let’s spore jump right to it: why do I think the Section 31 trailer reveals that Star Trek has been influenced for the worse by Marvel? The most obvious way is that the trailer looks like what happens when Alex Kurtzman says, “we’ve got Guardians of the Galaxy at home.” As in that classic James Gunn film, this new Trek adventure seems to be about a ragtag team saving the galaxy without (at least, if Georgiou has anything to say about it) taking anything too seriously.
Speaking of Star Trek riffing on Guardians of the Galaxy, I couldn’t help but think about that Marvel film while Beyoncé’s “Formation” played throughout most of the trailer. It’s a great song from a great artist, of course, but I found myself cringing at Paramount’s painfully earnest attempt to bring new fans to their aging franchise. Plus, Star-Lord at least had a narrative reason to motivate his love of vintage Earth music…in this trailer, the song is simply there as a desperate way for producers to prove that this new era of the franchise isn’t your dad’s Star Trek (“Misfit Content” indeed).
This is just a teaser and all, but I can’t shake the feeling that this new Star Trek movie, like some of the worst Marvel films, is prioritizing style over substance. Sure, it’s fun to see Michelle Yeoh glam it up, and it’s funny enough when an incredulous character labels her a “bad b*tch.” But if I wanted to watch a bunch of mediocre action scenes strung together by bad one-liners and boring supporting characters, I’d turn off Paramount+ and go watch Eternals again.
Speaking of Star Trek riffing on Guardians of the Galaxy, I couldn’t help but think about that Marvel film while Beyoncé’s “Formation” played throughout most of the trailer.
Now, I get it…this is the part where younger fans who really loved the trailer remind me that the franchise has to grow, and it can’t always be ‘90s-style Star Trek because that’s what us middle-aged nerds want to see. However, the trailer emphasizes how we’re supposed to root for this mass murderer because she’s sassy and meant to cheer as she joins Starfleet’s creepy wetworks division. I don’t think I’m going out too far out on a Bird of Prey wing to say that none of this really jibes with a franchise built on concepts of exploration, discovery, and diplomacy.
Star Trek is trying to copy the Marvel formula and doing about as well as Obadiah Stane trying to build his own tiny arc reactor.
Whether you agree that Star Trek producers are trying to copy Marvel’s homework, it’s hard to look at the Section 31 trailer and not think about Chris Pine’s recent comments. He revealed his annoyance that Paramount never appeals to “diehard” fans anymore and encouraged the studio to “make films that appeal to people who want to see the film.” His solution for Paramount is simple: the studio needs to make a “much smaller film that’s more story-driven, more character-based…less sh*t exploding.”
What is the Section 31 trailer, if not a bunch of disposable characters and sh*t exploding, all so Paramount can appeal to people who don’t even like the franchise? Star Trek is trying to copy the Marvel formula and doing about as well as Obadiah Stane trying to build his own tiny arc reactor. Until this franchise can figure out its core appeal and then create content for its core audience, Trek will continue to drive older audiences away, all while failing to recruit new fans.
