Update: July 7, 2016
George Takei Not Happy with Sulu Being Gay in STAR TREK BEYOND
After it was
recently revealed that Hikaru Sulu will be the first gay character in the Star Trek franchise, original Sulu actor George Takei wasn't overjoyed. He had never asked for Sulu to be gay. In fact, he'd much prefer that he stay straight. "I’m delighted that there’s a gay character," he tells
The Hollywood Reporter. "Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of Gene’s creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it’s really unfortunate."
He explains that Roddenberry was exhaustive in conceiving his
Star Trek characters. (The name Sulu, for example, was based on the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines, so as to render his Asian nationality indeterminate.) And Roddenberry had always envisioned Sulu as heterosexual.
Proving that is not so simple a matter, however. Sulu never had an on-screen love interest during
Star Trek's initial three-season run. He did mention a daughter, Demora, who appeared in 1994's
Star Trek Generations, the seventh film in the series (she was played by Jacqueline Kim).
Takei first learned of Sulu's recent same-sex leanings last year, when Cho called him to reveal the big news. Takei tried to convince him to make a new character gay instead. "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.'"
Not long after Cho's bombshell call came another, this one from Lin, again informing that Sulu was indeed to be gay in
Star Trek Beyond. Takei remained steadfastly opposed to the decision.
"I said, 'This movie is going to be coming out on the 50th anniversary of
Star Trek, the 50th anniversary of paying tribute to Gene Roddenberry, the man whose vision it was carried us through half a century. Honor him and create a new character. I urged them. He left me feeling that that was going to happen," Takei says.
After that, all was quiet from
Beyond until a few months ago, when Takei received an email from Pegg "praising me for my advocacy for the LGBT movement and for my pride in
Star Trek," he says. "And I thought to myself, 'How wonderful! It’s a fan letter from Simon Pegg. Justin had talked to him!'" Takei was certain the creative team had rethought their decision to make Sulu gay.
That is until one month ago, when he received an email from Cho informing him that the actor was about to embark on an international media tour for
Beyond. Cho said it was bound to come out that his character was gay, and "what should he do?" A disappointed Takei told Cho to go about his promotional duties, but that he was "not going to change" his mind on the matter.
"I really tried to work with these people when at long last the issue of gay equality was going to be addressed," Takei says. "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."
George Takei Reacts to Gay Sulu News: "I Think It's Really Unfortunate"
