James Bond's Michelle Yeoh reveals why she rejected chance to reprise iconic Bond girl

It never came to fruition, with Yeoh now opening up about why.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com for The Big RT Interview while promoting her new film Star Trek: Section 31, she revealed: "I was asked one time, to come back to do a cameo. But unfortunately I was filming, I was producing my own movie.

"Sometimes life throws tough choices at you."

The Bond film in question was Die Another Day, with director Lee Tamahori previously confirming to CinemaBlend: "Lots of modifications went on, but yes, Michelle Yeoh was supposed to come back into the picture, and in a not substantial part, but for the Hong Kong sequence."

He added that she turned the offer down.

One franchise Yeoh was eager to return to, however, was Star Trek, as she reprises her role as Philippa Georgiou in the new Paramount Plus feature Section 31.

Following on from Star Trek: Discovery, Section 31 follows Yeoh's Emperor Georgiou as she teams up with a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets. But can she be trusted?

"I couldn't wait to [to return]," Yeoh told RadioTimes.com of the new film.

"When we were filming Star Trek Discovery season 1, I'd gone to Alex [Kurtzman, Star Trek: Discovery creator] and say, 'We have to do a spin off. It's a no-brainer.'

"Between the two of us and Tunde [Section 31 director Olatunde Osunsanmi], we waited. We really worked on it. We never gave up. We never lost sight of it. I always knew I would make time for Star Trek, and I would always make time for Philippa Georgiou."

Star Trek: Section 31 arrives on Paramount Plus on 24th January 2025.

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