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)
It turns out that John Cho already told George Takei in 2015 that Sulu in "Star Trek Beyond" is gay. Recently, the latter revealed the pieces of advice he gave to his fellow Asian-American actor.
"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,'" Takei told The Hollywood Reporter referring Cho. The latter was born in Seoul, South Korea, but raised in Los Angeles, California.
Takei revealed that he opposed to the decision when he was informed that Sulu is gay by "Star Trek Beyond" director Justin Lin, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan, but raised in Orange County, California. The former revealed said he urged the director to create a new character instead to honor the late "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.
To make his Asian nationality indeterminate, the character was named after the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines. According to Takei, Roddenberry had always envisioned the character as heterosexual.
As Takei revealed, "Star Trek Beyond" writer and actor Simon Pegg sent him a letter via email praising him for his advocacy for the LGBT movement and for his pride in "Star Trek." This made Takei think that Lin had changed his mind about having a gay Sulu.
Now, Take is confused and is questioning what the point of Pegg's letter was. He assumed that his words had been heard but he was wrong.
Recently, Lin was in Sydney, Australia, for the Australian premiere of "Star Trek Beyond." During the event, the Taiwanese-American director talked about the diverse cast of the film.
"When I was growing up I'd never seen anything like it," ABC News quoted Lin as saying. "People see Sulu and Chekov and it was ahead of its time."
"Star Trek Beyond" will be the last film starring Anton Yelchin as Chekov. On June 19, the Russian Jewish-American actor died outside his house in Los Angeles, California, when his Jeep Grand Cherokee accidentally struck him.
Watch the "Star Trek Beyond" trailer here:
