Days after release of "Star Trek Beyond' several news and reports related to the story, its characters and actors started circulating online. One of the topics pitched is about Hikaru Sulu who was revealed in the latest installment as a closeted gay. Although its original actor, George Takei expressed his delight in the move, he said it would have been better if they retained Sulu's personality.
Although the welcome-home kiss between Sulu and his partner was cut in the movie, the film was still able to convey the idea that Sulu is actually gay, and has a daughter with his male partner. In his interview with Vulture, John Cho admitted there was actually a kiss between him and his partner when they met in the airport with their daughter.
The production team decided to cut the scene from the movie and instead focused on other ways where they can point out Sulu's gender. The actor added the act of affection was not a make-out session but just a welcome-home kiss.
In the on-going "Star Trek" movie franchise, Cho plays Sulu which was previously played by Takei in Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" TV series. Takei who confirmed he was gay a decade ago weighed in on the reinvention of the character and said through a Facebook post that although he was "delighted" with what Pegg did to Sulu's sexuality, it would have been better if the characters' background were retained.
When the idea was introduced to Cho, he said that one of his primary concern was that how would Takei feel about it because the latter is a gay actor who portrayed a straight character in "Star Trek." The Korean national said he did not want the Japanese actor to feel the new production team had reduced Sulu to Takei, adding that the former Sulu actor's opinion is important to him.
The idea to reinvent Sulu's personality came from Simon Pegg who co-wrote the film's screenplay. The writer insisted that the representation of the gay couple was well-handled and may be further explored in the coming installments of "Star Trek."
He added they only need to modulate it in a way it does not become an issue for other people. He pointed this as the reason why they decided to conduct the reinvention on Sulu's character.
To know more about "Star Trek" behind the scenes, watch the interview of Simon Pegg in the video below.