Simon Pegg responds to George Takei's disagreement with the decision to establish Sulu in 'Star Trek: Beyond as gay.
With the latest sequel to the new series of Star Trek films releasing in just a few short weeks, it was announced that director, Justin Lin, and co-writer and resident Scotty, Simon Pegg, planned to include a scene where the character, Hikaru Sulu, would be established as gay. The decision was met with some criticism, not from the intolerant masses or hardcore loyalist fanboys, but rather from the original Sulu himself, George Takei.
Ref: 'Star Trek: Beyond' will reveal Sulu as gay…and George Takei isn't okay with it.
Despite being a proud member of the gay community himself and a firm activist to the cause after coming out in 2005, Takei is not so much upset by the choice from an LGBT standpoint, but rather as a member of the Star Trek family. He feels that the choice contradicts the purpose of having Sulu as part of the main bridge crew. Sulu represents the overall Asian influence in a society that has found peace and prosperity by pooling its resources and setting aside things like prejudice and bigotry. He feels simply making the character gay for the sake of having an LGBT character represented goes against the idea behind the character as it was conceived by the original show creator, Gene Roddenberry.
Simon Pegg, however, disagrees with Takei and plans to continue with their plans for the character. The initial decision came with the best of intentions. The plan was to not only represent the LGBT community in a big-budget summer sci-fi movie, but to honor the work of Takei and the contributions he's made to the franchise and the supporting community. Pegg has this to say:
"I have huge love and respect for George Takei, his heart, courage and humor are an inspiration, however, 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. We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the ‘gay character,’ rather than simply for who they are, and isn’t that tokenism?”
Pegg feels like making Sulu gay wouldn't tarnish the tradition or legacy of the series. The logic behind choosing Sulu is simply for the sake of establishing someone who fans would already know. Introducing a new character for the sake of having an LGBT character is the definition of tokenism, which Pegg wanted to avoid.
"Their sexual orientation is just one of many personal aspects, not the defining characteristic. Also, the audience would infer that there has been an LGBT presence in the Trek universe from the beginning (at least in the Kelvin timeline), that a gay hero isn’t something new or strange. It’s also important to note that at no point do we suggest that our Sulu was ever closeted, why would he need to be? It’s just hasn’t come up before."
He even goes on to suggest that this timeline, having already been established as an alternate reality (Kelvin Universe) to the original series timeline (Prime Universe), could have developed a different history, one where Sulu actually is a gay man.
"I like this idea because it suggests that in a hypothetical multiverse, across an infinite matrix of alternate realities, we are all LGBT somewhere. Whatever dimension we inhabit, we all just want to be loved by those we love (and I love George Takei). I can’t speak for every reality but that must surely true of this one. Live long and prosper."
