One thing that ‘Star Trek’ fans have always embraced is the idea of a united humanity, which began way back in the original series. Lieutenant Uhura was one of the first depictions of a black woman as a capable professional and not domestic help and her kiss with Kirk was the first interracial smooch in TV history. Chekov depicted a Russian working alongside Americans while in real time, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were firmly locked in the Cold War. And likewise, Hikaru Sulu showed an Asian man that also didn’t adhere to stereotypes.
Subsequent iterations of ‘Trek’ have followed Gene Roddenberry’s guideline of a diverse future inclusive of all humans in addition to aliens. And while in the new movies, Kirk, Spock and Uhura are the main characters, it looks like we will be getting a bit more personal with some of the expanded cast.
One character getting a bit more development in ‘Star Trek Beyond’, is Jon Cho’s modern Sulu will be revealed to be a family man with a young daughter… and a same sex partner.
What should be pleasing to old school fans is that Sulu’s daughter, Demora Sulu, borrows from the original continuity, having appeared as an adult in ‘Star Trek: Generations’ (played by Jacqueline Kim).
Discussing his fictional daughter, Cho said, “Sulu has a heartache for his little baby.” He says that his character keeps a picture of his daughter on his controls joking “It covers up all the buttons.”
As far as Sulu’s being gay, it seems that idea stemmed from writer Simon Pegg (who also plays Scotty) and director Justin Lin, to honor George Takei the original Sulu actor who has found new popularity as one of the most popular celebrities on social media.
Last year, Takei discussed the burden of being homosexual and Asian in the 60s, saying:
“If I wanted to work as an actor I had to keep it a secret. Back then I couldn’t marry a white person — that was against the law here, miscegenation. But now I am married to a white dude so we have changed.”
As for Cho’s version of Sulu being openly gay, Cho said “I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one’s personal orientations.”
Cho returns in theaters later this month.
‘Star Trek Beyond’ directed by Justin Lin and starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho, the late Anton Yelchin, Sofia Boutella and Idris Elba beams into theaters on July 22.
Source: The Herald Sun
