Sulu Is an Out and Proud Gay Man Star Trek Beyond, Acrdg to John Cho | Vany Fair

Contents:

• SULU IS GAY IN 'STAR TREK BEYOND,' MAKG FRANCHISE HISTORY
• HAS STAR TREK'S SULU ALWAYS BEEN GAY? IT'S COMPLITED
• SIMON PEGG EXPLAS THE IMPORTANT REASON SULU IS GAY IN ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’
• ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ NFIRMS THAT HIKA SULU IS GAY
• GEE TAKEI LLS 'STAR TREK BEYOND' GAY SULU SCENE 'A WHISPER'
• STAR TREK BEYOND: SULU CONFIRMED AS FRANCHISE'S FIRST GAY CHARACTER
• SULU IS AN OUT AND PROUD GAY MAN STAR TREK BEYOND, ACRDG TO JOHN CHOMUCH LIKE GEE TAKEI, THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED THE ORIGAL SULU THE FIRST STAR TREK TV SERI.BY HILLARY BISJULY 7, 2016LEFT, OM CBS PHOTO ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAG; RIGHT, URTY OF PARAMOUNT PICTUR.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVELOOKS LIKE STAR TREK BEYOND WILL BOLDLY GO WHERE NO STAR TREK FILM HAS GONE BEFORE: MELBOURNE’S HERALD SUN REPORTS THAT THE UPG MOVIE WILL PICT U.S.S. ENTERPRISE HELMSMAN HIKA SULU AS A GAY MAN RAISG A DGHTER WH HIS PARTNER. (VANY FAIR HAS REACHED OUT TO PARAMOUNT FOR NFIRMATN AND MENT, AND WILL UPDATE THIS POST ACRDGLY WHEN WE HEAR BACK.)SUCH A MOVE WOULD MARK A TONE FOR THE STAR TREK ANCHISE, WHICH, THOUGH FAMOLY TRAILBLAZG TERMS OF DIVERSY AND PROGRSIVE STORYL, HAS NEVER BEFORE FEATURED AN OPENLY GAY CREW MEMBER. JT DON’T EXPECT A DRAMATIC G-OUT MOMENT FOR SULU: “I LIKED THE APPROACH, WHICH WAS NOT TO MAKE A BIG THG OUT ,” ACTOR JOHN CHO, WHO PLAYS SULU THE NEW FILMS, TOLD THE HERALD SUN. “WHICH IS WHERE I HOPE WE ARE GOG AS A SPECI, TO NOT POLICIZE ONE’S PERSONAL ORIENTATNS.”CHO ALSO DITED THAT STAR TREK BEYOND SCREENWRER (AND -STAR) SIMON PEGG AND DIRECTOR JT L CID TO MAKE SULU OPENLY GAY AS AN HOMAGE TO GEE TAKEI, THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED SULU ON THE ORIGAL STAR TREK SERI. (SULU WAS NEVER GIVEN A ROMANTIC PARTNER OF EHER SEX PREV STAR TREK RNATNS, THOUGH HE DID HAVE A DGHTER.) THOUGH CLOSETED DURG THE SHOW’S N THE 1960S, TAKEI ME OUT PUBLICLY 2005, WHEN HE REVEALED THAT HE HAD BEEN WH HIS PARTNER, BRAD ALTMAN, FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. THE PAIR MARRIED 2008.THE EXCG WORD ABOUT SULU’S ORIENTATN—AS WELL AS S LOW-KEY REVEAL—IS A NICE B OF POSIVE NEWS G OUT OF A PRS TOUR MARRED BY TRAGEDY: CHO, HIS ST, AND THE RT OF THE STAR TREK TEAM IS STILL GRAPPLG WH THE TRAGIC ATH OF THEIR RA ANTON YELCH, WHO DIED SUDNLY JUNE AT THE AGE OF 27. “IT’S VASTATG LOSG SOMEONE YOUR FAY,” CHO’S -STAR KARL URBAN TOLD THE HERALD SUN. “I’M HAVG A DIFFICULT TIME G TO GRIPS WH TALKG ABOUT HIM THE PAST TENSE—’S VERY RAW AND VERY PAFUL.”STAR TREK BEYOND OPENS JULY 22.MOST POPULARVANY FAIR’S “IT’S RAG TEENS” COVER AT 20: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY SAVANNAH WALSHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE MAY BE “THE MOST EXPENSIVE B OF FAN FICTN EVER”BY SAVANNAH WALSHTHE CAST OF OPPENHEIMER AND THE REAL PEOPLE THEY PLAYBY HILLARY BISHILLARY BIS
• STAR TREK BEYOND: GEE TAKEI REACTS TO SULU BEG GAY
• 'STAR TREK BEYOND'S SULU IS THE FRANCHISE'S FIRST GAY CHARACTER
• THE SURPRISG CONTROVERSY BEHD THE NEW GAY "STAR TREK" CHARACTER
• ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ CAST ADDRS THE GAY SULU NONTROVERSY: ‘IT FELT SO RIGHT’
• GEE TAKEI: MAKG SULU GAY NEW STAR TREK IS 'REALLY UNFORTUNATE'
• JOHN CHO’S SULU IS OFFICIALLY STAR TREK’S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHARACTER
• ‘STAR TREK: BEYOND’ WILL REVEAL SULU IS GAY

SULU IS GAY IN 'STAR TREK BEYOND,' MAKG FRANCHISE HISTORY

On Thursday, the Herald Sun announced that the character Hika Sulu will be revealed to be gay Star Trek Beyond, which hs theaters July 22. Gee Takei, who played Sulu the origal show and who has been a proment LGBT activist sce g out as gay jt over a ago, told the Hollywood Reporter that he has been agast revealg the character as gay sce he first heard was unr nsiratn last year.

“I’m lighted that there’s a gay character, ” Takei told THR. He believed ma more sense to create a new character who has always been gay, rather than brgg Sulu out of a prumed closet. ” But he also exprsed a ncern, which he discsed wh L and -wrer Doug Jung, that a new gay character may have been perceived by the dience as a token gay character, “primarily fed by their sexualy.

” Pegg believ Rodnberry’s cisn not to velop a gay character earlier was a product of his time, not of his visn.

HAS STAR TREK'S SULU ALWAYS BEEN GAY? IT'S COMPLITED

” Based on the movie’s timele, the cisn to make Sulu gay do not necsate his havg been the closet, Pegg explas, and prum that there has been an LGBT prence sce the begng of the anchise’s universe.

One of the “Star Trek” universe’s most beloved characters is revealed to be gay the latt stallment of the inic anchise. “I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thg out , which is where I hope we are gog as a speci, to not policize one’s personal orientatns, ” he and Pegg’s cisn to pict Sulu as a gay man was a nod to Gee Takei, who played the role the origal 1960s “Star Trek” televisn seri and six subsequent films, Cho said.

Takei, 79, me out as gay 2005, and has sce gone on to bee an outspoken advote for LGBT rights.

SIMON PEGG EXPLAS THE IMPORTANT REASON SULU IS GAY IN ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’

UPDATE: After news of this story broke, Takei lled the cisn to pict Sulu as a gay man “really unfortunate” a Hollywood Reporter terview. Hika Sulu is now known as the first openly gay character  Star Trek, but the character's sexualy hasn't always been so clear-cut.

In 2005, 36 years after Star Trek: The Origal Seri end, Sulu's origal actor, Gee Takei, publicly me out as gay.

Wantg to honor this legacy, Simon Pegg me up wh the ia of havg Sulu be gay  J.

‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ NFIRMS THAT HIKA SULU IS GAY

John Cho supported the ia, as did Zachary Quto, the actor who played Spock and who publicly me out as gay 2011. Why Takei Was Upset That Sulu Beme Gay. Takei publicly disagreed wh wrer and Stty actor, Simon Pegg about the plan to make Sulu gay.

While he wholeheartedly supported the cln of LGBTQ+ characters  Star Trek, he thought a new character should be created stead of makg Sulu nonilly gay. Pegg was also wary of Takei's advice to create a new character simply to fulfill the purpose of havg a gay character, as he thought that would lim the character to tokenism.

GEE TAKEI LLS 'STAR TREK BEYOND' GAY SULU SCENE 'A WHISPER'

Was Sulu Gay In The Wir Star Trek Canon? The fact that his dghter existed many of the novels and gam don't preclu the possibily that Sulu might be gay.

Abrams' Star Trek exist on different timel, 's possible to say that both a straight Sulu and a gay Sulu exist as part of the multiverse's non. Yterday, reports h that the fan favore character, played by John Cho the current trilogy, would be revealed as openly gay the upg “Star Trek Beyond. READ MORE: ‘Star Trek Beyond’: Gee Takei Reacts To ‘Unfortunate’ News of Gay Character.

STAR TREK BEYOND: SULU CONFIRMED AS FRANCHISE'S FIRST GAY CHARACTER

The screenwrer and his team always wanted to clu a gay character the “Star Trek” universe (maly bee the show and movi have always been so progrsive om the begng), and they felt like g a pre-existg character to do so was a more rpectful and impactful way of dog so than jt troducg a brand new origal gay character.

Pegg explas, “We uld have troduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily fed by their sexualy, seen as the ‘gay character’, rather than simply for who they are, and isn’t that tokenism? By revealg such a beloved character is gay, the screenwrg team also wanted to show that “there had been an LGBT prence the Trek Universe om the begng” and prove that “a gay hero isn’t somethg new or strange. As for Takei’s belief that turng Sulu gay chang Rodnberry’s origal visn, Pegg rpond, “I don’t believe Gene Rodnberry’s cisn to make the prime timele’s Enterprise crew straight was an artistic one, more a necsy of the time…The viewg dience weren’t open md enough at the time and mt have forced Rodnberry to modulate his novatn.

In a tribute to his ongog legacy as an in of the Star Trek anchise, wrer Simon Pegg and director Jt L cid make Sulu nonilly gay the upg movie.

SULU IS AN OUT AND PROUD GAY MAN STAR TREK BEYOND, ACRDG TO JOHN CHOMUCH LIKE GEE TAKEI, THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED THE ORIGAL SULU THE FIRST STAR TREK TV SERI.BY HILLARY BISJULY 7, 2016LEFT, OM CBS PHOTO ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAG; RIGHT, URTY OF PARAMOUNT PICTUR.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVELOOKS LIKE STAR TREK BEYOND WILL BOLDLY GO WHERE NO STAR TREK FILM HAS GONE BEFORE: MELBOURNE’S HERALD SUN REPORTS THAT THE UPG MOVIE WILL PICT U.S.S. ENTERPRISE HELMSMAN HIKA SULU AS A GAY MAN RAISG A DGHTER WH HIS PARTNER. (VANY FAIR HAS REACHED OUT TO PARAMOUNT FOR NFIRMATN AND MENT, AND WILL UPDATE THIS POST ACRDGLY WHEN WE HEAR BACK.)SUCH A MOVE WOULD MARK A TONE FOR THE STAR TREK ANCHISE, WHICH, THOUGH FAMOLY TRAILBLAZG TERMS OF DIVERSY AND PROGRSIVE STORYL, HAS NEVER BEFORE FEATURED AN OPENLY GAY CREW MEMBER. JT DON’T EXPECT A DRAMATIC G-OUT MOMENT FOR SULU: “I LIKED THE APPROACH, WHICH WAS NOT TO MAKE A BIG THG OUT ,” ACTOR JOHN CHO, WHO PLAYS SULU THE NEW FILMS, TOLD THE HERALD SUN. “WHICH IS WHERE I HOPE WE ARE GOG AS A SPECI, TO NOT POLICIZE ONE’S PERSONAL ORIENTATNS.”CHO ALSO DITED THAT STAR TREK BEYOND SCREENWRER (AND -STAR) SIMON PEGG AND DIRECTOR JT L CID TO MAKE SULU OPENLY GAY AS AN HOMAGE TO GEE TAKEI, THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED SULU ON THE ORIGAL STAR TREK SERI. (SULU WAS NEVER GIVEN A ROMANTIC PARTNER OF EHER SEX PREV STAR TREK RNATNS, THOUGH HE DID HAVE A DGHTER.) THOUGH CLOSETED DURG THE SHOW’S N THE 1960S, TAKEI ME OUT PUBLICLY 2005, WHEN HE REVEALED THAT HE HAD BEEN WH HIS PARTNER, BRAD ALTMAN, FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. THE PAIR MARRIED 2008.THE EXCG WORD ABOUT SULU’S ORIENTATN—AS WELL AS S LOW-KEY REVEAL—IS A NICE B OF POSIVE NEWS G OUT OF A PRS TOUR MARRED BY TRAGEDY: CHO, HIS ST, AND THE RT OF THE STAR TREK TEAM IS STILL GRAPPLG WH THE TRAGIC ATH OF THEIR RA ANTON YELCH, WHO DIED SUDNLY JUNE AT THE AGE OF 27. “IT’S VASTATG LOSG SOMEONE YOUR FAY,” CHO’S -STAR KARL URBAN TOLD THE HERALD SUN. “I’M HAVG A DIFFICULT TIME G TO GRIPS WH TALKG ABOUT HIM THE PAST TENSE—’S VERY RAW AND VERY PAFUL.”STAR TREK BEYOND OPENS JULY 22.MOST POPULARVANY FAIR’S “IT’S RAG TEENS” COVER AT 20: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY SAVANNAH WALSHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE MAY BE “THE MOST EXPENSIVE B OF FAN FICTN EVER”BY SAVANNAH WALSHTHE CAST OF OPPENHEIMER AND THE REAL PEOPLE THEY PLAYBY HILLARY BISHILLARY BIS

While Hollywood still has a long way to go terms of queer reprentatn, feels appropriate for Star Trek to be the first big sci-fi anchise to clu a gay character s ma st. The reboot versn of Sulu is gay, we learned "Beyond, " the third of the new movi. Takei has said publicly he is agast the ia of Sulu beg gay, and he had plenty to say about here at the 50th anniversary Star Trek nventn Las Vegas.

Takei would have preferred for the reboot filmmakers to create a new gay character. " Takei says he has agreed to disagree on the issue of gay Sulu wh the movie's -wrer Simon Pegg, wh whom he has exchanged emails.

John Cho reveals that the Sulu he portrays the morn Star Trek films will be the anchise's first gay character Star Trek Beyond.

STAR TREK BEYOND: GEE TAKEI REACTS TO SULU BEG GAY

That uld be changg soon, though, as Star Trek Beyond will feature a gay character: U.

Cho mentned that -wrers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung did this as a nod to the origal Sulu, Gee Takei (who is gay). Abrams mentned the past that he would love to see a homosexual character the Star Wars film anchise, but that hasn't e to pass yet (though, the non novels have alt wh the subject). Enterprise helmsman Hika Sulu as a gay man raisg a dghter wh his partner.

)Such a move would mark a tone for the Star Trek anchise, which, though famoly trailblazg terms of diversy and progrsive storyl, has never before featured an openly gay crew member.

'STAR TREK BEYOND'S SULU IS THE FRANCHISE'S FIRST GAY CHARACTER

”Cho also dited that Star Trek Beyond screenwrer (and -star) Simon Pegg and director Jt L cid to make Sulu openly gay as an homage to Gee Takei, the actor who played Sulu on the origal Star Trek seri. When current Sulu actor, John Cho, said Star Trek Beyond will reveal that Sulu is gay, Takei was both lighted and dismayed.

"I’m lighted that there’s a gay character. Takei has known of the plans for Sulu to be openly gay for about a year, and even tried to nvce Cho to talk the powers-that-be out of the change:. "I told him, 'Be imagative and create a character who has a history of beg gay, rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, sudnly beg revealed as beg closeted.

'Star Trek Beyond's Sulu Is the Franchise's First Gay Character. It's been nfirmed that USS Enterprise helmsman Litenant Hika Sulu is, fact, gay. That mak Sulu the first openly gay character the storied anchise.

THE SURPRISG CONTROVERSY BEHD THE NEW GAY "STAR TREK" CHARACTER

Now, before folks out there start cricizg Paramount or the filmmakers of phg some kd of "gay agenda, " ask yourself this qutn: In a show about the far-flung future which a team of trepid space explorers do their bt to teract wh alien speci, exotic cultur, and a vast array of different cultur as peaceful a way as possible, wouldn't make ls sense for zero gay humans to be prent? We uld have troduced a new gay character but he or she would have been primarily fed by their sexualy, seen as the 'gay character, ' rather than simply for who they are and isn't that tokenism? Also, the dience would fer that there has been an LGBT prence the Trek Universe om the begng (at least the Kelv timele), that a gay hero isn't somethg new or strange.

‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ CAST ADDRS THE GAY SULU NONTROVERSY: ‘IT FELT SO RIGHT’

When Star Trek Beyond’s Simon Pegg first pched the ia of makg Hika Sulu gay honor of origal seri star Gee Takei, he thought the Star Trek in and LGBTQ activist would love seeg the Enterprise’s helmsman boldly go where no one has gone before 50 years of Trek: out of the was wrong. ”“I’m lighted that there’s a gay character, ” he said.

“It wasn’t jt that we revealed that he’s gay, ” said Zoe Saldana, who plays Lt. ”Pegg expand on the gay Sulu ntroversy to The Daily Beast, assurg that there’s no beef or animosy wh Takei over the issue. “We were que surprised when he was sort of unsure about , ” he 2016, and wh Star Trek Beyond arrivg theaters weeks after Ghostbters tak a bold stance for women but whiffs on gay reprentatn, clivy on this sle isn’t jt homage to Trek lore’s own LGBT in.

Gee Takei, the actor who played helmsman Sulu the origal Star Trek TV seri, has exprsed scepticism about the cisn to make Sulu openly gay the new movie Star Trek move, announced by new Sulu actor John Cho on Thursday, was tend by wrer Simon Pegg as a doff of the p to Takei’s pneerg work for gay rponse, however, Takei told that Hollywood Reporter that, far om beg touched, he had urged Pegg and his team to rethk the cisn, fearg that the sudn move did not honour the character as he was origally created, and sent a dub msage about whether people n sudnly change sexualy.

GEE TAKEI: MAKG SULU GAY NEW STAR TREK IS 'REALLY UNFORTUNATE'

“I’m lighted that there’s a gay character, ” said Takei.

”Takei said that he had exprsed his ncerns immediately on hearg of the plot velopment, which volv the revelatn that, as well as a dghter, Sulu has a same-sex actor reportedly enuraged the film-makers to be “imagative and create a character who has a history of beg gay, rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, sudnly beg revealed as beg closeted” said he then appealed to the director, Jt L, cg the fact the film out 50 years after Gene Rodnberry first created the Star Trek world, and appealg to them to “honour him and create a new character” although Takei was “left feelg that that was gog to happen”, he then received an email om Pegg which explaed that the velopment was meant tribute, which Takei took to mean his ncerns had not been listened to. In an terview wh Atralia’s Herald Sun, Cho has revealed that the versn of Sulu he plays Star Trek Beyond — based on Gee Takei’s origal character Star Trek — is gay.

JOHN CHO’S SULU IS OFFICIALLY STAR TREK’S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHARACTER

That mak him the first openly gay character Star Trek’s history. Cho also said that Star Trek Beyond -wrer Simon Pegg (who also plays Stty the movie) and director Jt L tend for the character’s sexual orientatn to be a nod to Takei, who me out 2005 after s of silence and has been a vol activist for gay rights ever sce. But no matter how sual the cln of a gay crew member may be the movie self, the choice is a big one terms of both the Star Trek non — which has never before explicly stated that a ma crew member is anythg but straight — and for sci-fi blockbters general, which still rarely clu queer characters spe ostensibly takg place worlds far removed om our Earth’s prejudic.

Club on the persistent straightns of sci-fi tails exactly how big a al an openly gay character is for Star Trek particular, which has tried and failed to clu one before:. A month before stg began on Star Trek: The Next Generatn, [seri creator Gene] Rodnberry admted, "We should probably have a gay character on Star Trek. But at least there was a gay wrer the room, David Gerrold, who wrote a first-season script tellg an AIDS allegory via a gut actor ncerned about his sick boyiend.

‘STAR TREK: BEYOND’ WILL REVEAL SULU IS GAY

At the start of the fifth season, Rodnberry promised the seri would fally get to queer stori, and there would be gay crewmen on the Enterprise. Why are there no gay characters Star Trek?

Moore left the anchise, he put bluntly: "There is no answer for other than people charge don’t want gay characters Star Trek. He even promised Febary that we would eventually be seeg gay characters the ever-expandg Star Wars universe.

Promis are nice and all, but actn is better, and a nonchalantly gay Sulu on Star Trek is perhaps the first sign of a notable shift toward LGBTQ cln sci-fi. Takei went on to say that while Cho, Pegg, and L nsulted wh him ahead of time, that he turn phed back agast the ia that makg Sulu gay uld honor him when he and Rodberry had always viewed the character as heterosexual — and was disappoted when Pegg and L phed ahead wh the plan, regardls of his opposn.