It’s no accident that he was forced out of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which remains arguably the best of the twelve films made so far.
Advertisement
This time, however, Smithsonian is tackling a documentary that actually involves one of the museums that make up the Smithsonian’s namesake.
Star Trek Beyond is set to reveal that helmsman of the USS Enterprise, Hikaru Sulu is actually gay. Star Trek: Celebrating 50 Years will not only have Fuller give out scoop on the new show, it will have him talking to stars from the old shows like William Shatner, Michael Dorn, Scott Bakula, Brent Spiner and Jeri Ryan.
Lin and Pegg’s decision to depict Sulu as a gay man was a nod to George Takei, who played the role in the original 1960s “Star Trek” television series and in six subsequent films, Cho said.
Cho, Zachary Quinto, Director Justin Lin, Chris Pine and Karl Urban pose during a photo call for “Star Trek Beyond” in Sydney, Australia on Thursday.
Takei spent his entire Star Trek career keeping his orientation secret, coming out publicly in 2005.
A new TV series is in production for next year, Star Trek: Beyond will hit screens later this month, and it’s the 50th anniversary of the first series.
It’s worth noting, before people complain, that Sulu could well be canonically gay in the original series and it just never came up.
“Takei said: “[Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry] said “I know we do use metaphors to deal with contemporary issues”, but he was treading a very tight rope because of the fact that he was dealing with issues.
Advertisement
Star Trek has always been a franchise that pushes cultural barriers, and in the upcoming film, Star Trek Beyond, it’s poised to push past another with its first openly gay character. Not only that but fans are going to see the cast and crew of “Star Trek Beyond” at the premiere, and get a live San Diego symphony orchestra concert performance as well.
