Simon Pegg defends decision to make Sulu gay in ‘Star Trek Beyond’

Star and co-writer of the upcoming Star Trek Beyond Simon Pegg has responded to George Takei's disapproval that his old character Hikaru Sulu will be openly gay in the film.

Following current Sulu actor John Cho's recent announcement that the character will have a male partner and a daughter in Beyond, Takei (the original Sulu) called the decision "really unfortunate" and a "twisting of [creator] Gene [Roddenberry's] creation, to which he put in so much thought."

Pegg, who plays Scotty in the film, and who made the call on Sulu along with director Justin Lin, released a statement Friday in response. According to The Guardian, Pegg said he has "huge love and respect for George Takei," but "with regards to his thoughts on our Sulu, I must respectfully disagree with him.”

“He’s right, it is unfortunate, it’s unfortunate that the screen version of the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction hasn’t featured an LGBT character until now," Pegg stated, going on to say that he "loved the idea of it being someone we already knew because the audience have a pre-existing opinion of that character as a human being, unaffected by any prejudice."

The choice of Sulu to be an LGBT character in the film was a nod to Takei's openly gay sexuality and history of pro-LGBTQ activism.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The original Star Trek series on which the movies are based featured an active attempt for the time at including a diverse cast, although there were no openly gay characters at the time. 

“Our Trek is an alternate timeline with alternate details,” Pegg continued. "I like this idea because it suggests that in a hypothetical multiverse, across an infinite matrix of alternate realities, we are all LGBT somewhere."

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