The original 'Star Trek' star is not too happy that his classic character Sulu is revealed to be gay in the third installment of the 'Star Trek' reboot movie series.
- Jul 8, 2016
AceShowbiz - George Takei, an LGBT activist and actor who portrayed Sulu in the original "Star Trek" movie series, has reacted to the news about gay Sulu, played by John Cho, in the upcoming "Star Trek Beyond". Takei wasn't too happy about the news and called it "unfortunate" as it wasn't part of creator Gene Roddenberry's original vision.
The 79-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm delighted that there's a gay character." He continued, "Unfortunately, it's a twisting of Gene's creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it's really unfortunate."
Takei preferred that Cho and the team behind the third installment of the "Star Trek" reboot movie series would have created an all-new gay character. He said, "I told him, 'Be imaginative and create a character who has a history of being gay, rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, suddenly being revealed as being closeted.' "
Takei also told director Justin Lin that the best way to honor the 50th anniversary of "Star Trek" was to create a brand new character rather than changing an existing one. After his conversation with the director, he was left "feeling that that was going to happen."
"I really tried to work with these people when at long last the issue of gay equality was going to be addressed," Takei said. "I thought after that conversation with Justin that was going to happen. Months later, when I got that email from Simon Pegg, I was kind of confused. He thinks I'm a great guy? Wonderful. But what was the point of that letter? I interpreted that as my words having been heard," he added.
In the original movie series, Sulu has no romantic relationship on-screen, but he does have a daughter named Demora who has appeared in "Star Trek Generations". The only mention of Sulu's personal life has appeared in 1995's "Star Trek" novel, "The Captain's Daughter". "It was, to put it crudely, a one-night stand with a glamazon," Takei explained, "A very athletic, powerful and stunningly gorgeous woman. That's Demora's mother."
