“I’m delighted that there’s a gay character,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of Gene’s creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it’s really unfortunate.”

 

Actor Simon Pegg, one of the writers of the new film, said that although he respected Takei, he disagreed with him on this issue.

 

"He’s right, it is unfortunate," Pegg said. "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 added: ‘[Director] Justin Lin, [co-writer] Doug Jung and I 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. 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."

 

Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the current film series, agreed with Pegg.

 

“I was disappointed by the fact that George was disappointed," Quinto said. "I get it that he has had his own personal journey and has his own personal relationship with this character but, you know, as we established in the first Star Trek film in 2009, we’ve created an alternate universe, and my hope is that eventually George can be strengthened by the enormously positive response from especially young people who are heartened by and inspired by this really tasteful and beautiful portrayal of something that I think is gaining acceptance and inclusion in our societies across the world, and should be.”

 

We also love Takei, but we think Pegg's point about tokenism is a valid one. Besides, Sulu's sexuality was hardly explored during the series so he's probably the most logical choice.