John Cho, Karl Urban, Director Justin Lin, Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine arrive ahead of the 'Star Trek Beyond' Australian Premiere on July 7, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo : Getty Images/Cameron Spencer)
"Star Trek Beyond" star John Cho recently confirmed that his character Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu will be portrayed as a gay man in the film.
According to Herald Sun, Cho's character will be the first ever LGBT to be portrayed in the movie.
While speaking with the publication, the actor clarified that even though Sulu is gay, he won't have any raunchy scenes.
"I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out of it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one's personal orientations," he said.
However, even though Sulu won't have any make out scenes in the installment, his husband and daughter will be featured in some scenes.
Meanwhile, "Star Trek Beyond" director Justin Lin and co-write Simon Pegg said that their decision to reveal Sulu as gay is somewhat a homage to its original portrayer George Takei.
Unfortunately, Takei opened up about Sulu being gay in the franchise and said that he isn't too happy with it. After all, Sulu being gay was not the movie creator Gene Roddenberry's vision.
"I'm delighted that there's a gay character. Unfortunately, it's a twisting of Gene's creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it's really unfortunate," he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Takei added that he always perceived Sulu as a heterosexual character from the first few films in the franchise.
"He was a strong supporter of LGBT equality. But he said he has been pushing the envelope and walking a very tight rope. And if he pushed too hard, the show would not be on the air," Takei continued.
The actor also revealed that he had a conversation with Cho last year and they talked about Sulu's sexual orientation.
Even then, Takei already tried to talk Cho out of portraying Sulu as a gay man.
"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 that 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," he said.
"Star Trek Beyond" is slated to hit theaters in the United States on July 22.
