Summary

• Iman’s iconic portrayal of Martia, a Chameloid in Star Trek VI, set the stage for the return of shape-shifting aliens in Section 31.
• While Chameloids disappeared after Star Trek VI due to the rise of Changelings in DS9, Section 31 will reintroduce the mysterious race.
• Section 31’s new Chameloid character opens doors for deeper exploration of their culture, but it’s unlikely Iman will make a return.

Supermodel and actress Iman played Martia, Star Trek‘s first Chameloid, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The final movie for the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series saw Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) framed for murder and sent to the Rura Penthe penal colony. Martia was one of the other prisoners, and used her abilities as a shape-shifter to enable Kirk and McCoy’s escape while harboring ulterior motives.

While Martia wasn’t the first shape-shifting alien seen in the Star Trek universe, she’s certainly one of the most memorable. 33 years after Iman’s one and only performance as a Chameloid, the shape-shifting aliens are coming back in Star Trek: Section 31. Sam Richardson, who is playing an as-yet unnamed character in Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 movie, revealed that he was playing a Chameloid while at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Richardson’s role in 2025’s Section 31 will finally build on the alien race first established by Iman, way back in 1991.

Iman Played A Chameloid Shape Shifter In Star Trek VI

Like Kirk and McCoy, Martia was imprisoned on Rura Penthe for a major crime against the Klingon Empire in the 2290s. To have her sentence quashed, Martia agreed to participate in the Khitomer Conspiracy. Martia’s role was to help Kirk and McCoy to escape prison, so that the Klingon guards would be justified in killing two escaped assassins. However, Martia’s shape-shifting abilities ultimately proved to be her downfall because, while assuming the form of Captain Kirk, she was mistakenly vaporized by the penal colony’s commandant.

Iman rose to prominence as a supermodel in the 1970s, and began her acting career with a guest role in The Cosby Show in 1985. In 1991, Iman was convinced to accept the role of Martia in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country by her agent, who was a big Star Trek fan. A year later, Iman married David Bowie, whose song “Changes” inspired a Star Trek: Discovery episode title earlier in 2024. The couple were married until Bowie’s death in 2016. Although Iman gave up acting in the late 1990s, she has continued to work as a TV producer on shows like Project Runway Canada and Supreme Models.

Why Chameloids Disappeared After Star Trek VI

While the Chameloids never appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the introduction of Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine resolutely put paid to any return appearance. The 1992 Writer’s Bible for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine specifically intended for Odo to originate from an entirely new race of alien shape-shifters, as it makes no reference to the Chameloids from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. When Odo’s origins became a vital part of DS9‘s ongoing storyline, it made it impossible for the Chameloids to return to 90s Star Trek.

Rene Auberjonois also appeared in
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
, playing the corrupt Colonel West.

The Changelings played an integral role in DS9‘s Dominion War, and so reintroducing the Chameloids in Deep Space Nine or even Star Trek: Voyager would have only confused matters. When a Star Trek big bad has particular special powers, introducing races with similar abilities only reduces them in stature. That’s why there were no major cyborg villain races introduced after Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the Borg Collective. Coincidentally, however, DS9 introduced Section 31, the agency that will finally bring the Chameloids back in the upcoming Star Trek movie.

Chameloids Return In Star Trek: Section 31 – But Will Iman?

As a covert Starfleet intelligence organization, it makes perfect sense for Section 31 to enlist the services of a Chameloid like the character played by Sam Richardson. Whether Star Trek: Section 31‘s new Chameloid character sets up a deeper dive into their culture and home planet remains to be seen. If Section 31 does delve deeper into the Chameloids, then it’s unlikely that Iman will be a part of any future Star Trek appearances. Not least because Section 31 will take place after Martia was killed on Rura Penthe.

Iman’s last acting role was in the 1999 David Cage/David Bowie computer game Nomad Soul, in which, appropriately enough, she voiced the character of Iman 631. For the past 25 years, Iman has raised her children, designed a clothing line, produced TV shows, and continues to work tirelessly to eradicate poverty in her role as a Global Advocate for CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere). Given that playing a Chameloid in Star Trek was done at the behest of her superfan agent, it’s very unlikely that Iman will reprise the role.