George Takei Says it’s “Unfortunate” Sulu is Now Gay, He Tried to Talk Them Out of It
Yesterday it was revealed that John Cho's version of Sulu in Star Trek Beyond is gay. The reveal will come in the film when Sulu is shown in a photo as a "loving father of a daughter with a same sex partner." A lot of people thought that was very cool of the creative team for making that decision and that it gives a nice nod to George Takei, who came out as gay in 2005.
Surprisingly, Takei doesn't support the change to Sulu's character, and even tried to convince the creative team not to do it. This is something I wasn't expecting to hear from Takei at all. During an interview with THR, the actor had this to say about Gene Roddenberry:
"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."
The idea of Sulu being gay came from Simon Pegg, who not only plays Scotty in the film but also helped write the screenplay for Beyond. He and director Justin Lin wanted to pay homage to Takei's legacy as both a sci-fi icon and beloved LGBT activist. Takei just didn't think it was the right thing to do. He said:
"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."
The actor even tried to talk them out of it. When Cho called him to reveal the news, Takei 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."
When the director called up Takei to confirm for a fact that Sulu would be gay, the actor urged him not to do it, saying:
"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 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."
Not long after that, Takei received an email from Pegg pretty much telling him that they are going to stick with Sulu being gay. He went on the say that the email from Pegg praised him for his "advocacy for the LGBT movement and for my pride in Star Trek." Takei continued:
"And I thought to myself, 'How wonderful! It’s a fan letter from Simon Pegg. Justin had talked to him!"
But nothing he said said worked. They stuck with their plan to make Sulu gay, and he was disappointed. When Cho told him they weren't going to change their minds, Takei told Cho to "go about his promotional duties, but that he was not going to change his mind on the matter." He went on to say:
"I really tried to work with these people when at long last the issue of gay equality was going to be addressed. I thought after that conversation with Justin that was going to happen. Months later, when I got that email from Simon Pegg, I was kind of confused. He thinks I’m a great guy? Wonderful. But what was the point of that letter? I interpreted that as my words having been heard."
That's an interesting take on the matter, and I didn't see it coming, but I completely understand Takei's outlook on it. It's weird because they wanted to honor Takei in doing this, but in a way, by not taking Takei's advice and listening to him, they didn't really honor him because it's not what he wanted for the character.