Sam Richardson's Star Trek: Section 31 Role Has A Connection To The Undiscovered Country

As of this writing, Trekkies haven't been given too many details about the upcoming TV movie "Star Trek: Section 31." A recent teaser trailer revealed a lot, however. As was known, Section 31 is the shady, black ops division of Starfleet, tasked with infiltrating dangerous crime lairs or manipulating local politics to their own ends. They're the morally compromised arm of "Star Trek." In the upcoming film, the division is led by Empress Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), who was previously a recurring character on "Star Trek: Discovery." Georgiou, to recap, was rescued from the evil "mirror" universe where she was a vicious tyrant who murdered millions. Now, after a slight redemption arc, she's been put in charge of a cadre of spies.

Said characters are a ragtag group of freelance badasses. The "Section 31" cast includes Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao.

Sam Richardson also appears in the movie as a member of Georgiou's team. The "I Think You Should Leave" and "Hocus Pocus 2" actor talked about his "Star Trek" role on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast (via Trek Movie), disclosing that he is playing a Chameloid — a shape-shifting species not seen in the sci-fi franchise since the 1991 film "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." One might not recall the species' name, but one will almost certainly recall the character of Martia, played by supermodel Iman. Martia was a character James Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) encountered when they had been thrown into a Klingon prison located on a distant, arctic planet. She used her shape-shifting abilities to help Kirk and McCoy escape prison, before ultimately revealing herself to be in league with the film's evil conspirators.

However, despite them being members of the same species, Richardson was a little baffled as to why his character didn't choose to look like Iman.

Apart from their appearance in "Star Trek VI," little is known about Chameloids. All we know is they can shapeshift into other humanoids and perfectly imitate their voices. In "The Undiscovered Country," for example, Martia transforms into Kirk at one point, resulting in a scene where Shatner has a fistfight with himself. Chameloids are also one of many shapeshifting species in "Star Trek," a list that includes the Founders (the Changelings from "Deep Space Nine"), Allassomorphs (like the one Wesley Crusher fell in love with on "The Next Generation"), Vendorians (the squid monster from "Star Trek: The Animated Series"), and Devidians (the ones from the "Next Generation" episode "Time's Arrow"). There are also multiple species who alter their appearance using psychic manipulation or holograms. On "Star Trek," you can never really be sure you know who you're talking to.

Sam Richardson is aware he's playing the first Chameloid to appear on "Star Trek" since 1991, and his character shares one common feature with Martia: they both have bright yellow eyes. As he put it:

"So I play a physicist shapeshifter, what's called a Chameloid. This is the second time there's ever been a Chameloid in 'Star Trek.' The first time was Iman in 'Star Trek VI' [...] It's actually very funny. With Iman, it's like this is a shapeshifter, you want to look good, [so you say] 'Yeah, I'll make myself Iman.' And then for me, it's like, 'Oh good, I'm going to make myself Sam Richardson.' I'm going to accept it."

It hasn't been revealed in print yet, but Richardson noted that his character's name sounds like "Quasi." The fact that his character is a physicist also reveals that "Section 31" may boast a typical "Star Trek" style crew with a scientist, an engineer, a doctor, a diplomat, a pilot, a security officer, and a command officer. The movie isn't due until 2025, however, so this must remain in the realm of speculation for the time being.