Simon Pegg has released a statement in response to George Takei's negative reaction to the revelation that Sulu (John Cho) in "Star Trek Beyond" is gay. Aside from co-writing the screenplay of the film with Doug Jung, Pegg also plays Scotty.
Takei told The Hollywood Reporter that having a gay Sulu is twisting of the creation of the late "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry. "I think it's really unfortunate."
In a statement released to The Guardian, Pegg noted that Takei is right that it is unfortunate, particularly because the screen version of the most inclusive and tolerant universe in science fiction has not featured an LGBT character until now.
"We could have introduced a new gay character," Pegg said in the statement. However, for him, a new gay character would have been primarily defined by his or her sexuality and seen as the gay character instead of simply for who he or she is.
This is tokenism, Pegg pointed out. He said he must respectfully disagree with Takei with regards to his thoughts on the "Star Trek Beyond" character Sulu.
However, the "Star Trek Beyond" actor and scriptwriter clarified that he has huge love and respect for Takei. The former noted that the heart, courage and humor of the openly gay Japanese-American actor who originally played Sulu are an inspiration.
Directed by Justin Lin, "Star Trek Beyond" is set to be released on July 22. Joining Pegg and Cho in the cast are Idris Elba as Krall, Chris Pine as Kirk, Karl Urban as Bones, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Sofia Boutella as Jaylah and the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov.
After playing Sulu in "Star Trek Beyond," Cho will star in "Literally Right Before Aaron" and "Gemini." Both films are scheduled to be released in 2017.
"Literally Right Before Aaron" also stars Cobie Smulders, Lea Thompson and Kristen Schaal while "Gemini" also stars Zoe Kravitz and Lola Kirke. The former is written and directed by Ryan Eggold while the latter is directed by Aaron Katz.
Watch a "Star Trek Beyond" trailer here: