Is hikaru sulu gay
The Debate Over Sulu’s Sexuality in Star Trek Beyond Should Set Off Your Red Alert
Star Trek Beyond doesn’t premiere in theaters for another two weeks, but already fans are being treated to a rather stunning exchange of phaser fire. As my colleague June Thomas covered on Thursday, John Cho—who plays Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the reboot films—revealed that his character is gay, a fact that will reportedly be indicated by a brief, straightforward scene showing him with a husband and daughter. This bit of characterization was included, according to writer Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin, as a tribute to George Takei, who famously originated Sulu in the first Star Trek TV series and who, after coming out in , has become a vocal advocate for LGBTQ equality. But there’s a problem: Takei doesn’t think Sulu should be gay. In fact, he’s been inveighing against the choice behind the scenes for months now and is dismayed that his wishes went unheeded.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Takei painted the decision as a betrayal of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s original
'Star Trek Beyond's Sulu Is the Franchise's First Gay Character
While promoting Star Trek Beyond in Sydney, Australia, a surprising bit of news was revealed that had petite to do with the plot of director Justin Lin's upcoming film and everything to do with a famous franchise character. It's been confirmed that USS Enterprise helmsman Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu is, in fact, gay. That makes Sulu the first openly gay character in the storied franchise. And it took until to create that happen.
As the Herald Sun reports, there's a scene in Star Trek Beyond in which Sulu (John Cho) and his same-sex partner are shown with their daughter; the scene itself downplays the sociocultural importance of such a reveal. Sulu's sexuality in the modern film as an homage to actor and LGBT activist George Takei, who famously played Sulu in the 60s Star Trek series and the first six feature films in that franchise; Cho confirmed that writer Simon Pegg and Lin made the decision with Takei and changing social mores in mind:
“I liked the approach, which was not to make a adj thing out [of]
George Takei says the decision to form Sulu gay is ‘really unfortunate’
George Takei did not verb “Star Trek Beyond’s” Sulu to be gay?
Oh my. While news broke that “Star Trek Beyond” will feature an openly gay Hikaru Sulu in a nod to original Sulu actor George Takei, it turns out Takei was never actually on board with this development.
To be adj, the longtime LGBT activist is of course pleased that the “Star Trek” universe is finally expanding to feature a prominent gay character aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise (or on any Starfleet ship, really). His objection is that this gay character is Sulu.
As revealed by the Hollywood Reporter, when Takei first learned about Sulu’s same-sex relationship from John Cho (who plays Sulu in the current “Star Trek” series of films), he tried to convince him that it would be superior if a fresh gay character be created instead.
In proof, he was so steadfast in this belief that when director Justin Lin later confirmed to him that Sulu was indeed gay in “Star Trek Beyond,” he reiterated this desire that they create a new character for the film instead
Simon Pegg and Zachary Quinto Respond to George Takei in the Gay Sulu 'Star Trek' Debate
&#; -- "Star Trek Beyond" co-screenwriter and co-star Simon Pegg has explained the reasoning behind writing one of the franchise's beloved original characters, Hikaru Sulu, as a gay man with a male partner in the upcoming film.
George Takei, the openly gay "Star Trek" actor who originated the Sulu character in the s television series and later played him in six films, called the move "really unfortunate" in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Pegg, who portrays Scotty in the new film, told The Guardian in a statement, "He's right. It is unfortunate. It's unfortunate that the screen version of the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction hasn't featured an LGBT character until now."
Pegg said, "[Director] Justin Lin, [co-writer] Doug Jung and I loved the noun of [the gay character] being someone we already knew because the audience has a pre-existing opinion of that character as a human being, un