Star Trek creator would love gay plot twist, son insists
The son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry says his dad would be thrilled about the revelation that a central character is gay.
The third instalment of the Star Trek reboot series is due for release later this month, with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana reprising their roles as the Enterprise crew.
John Cho, who plays the role of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu made famous by George Takei, said in an interview this week that the character would be revealed to be gay in the upcoming film.
Takei has been a long-time proponent of LGBT characters in the Star Trek universe, but attacked the decision as “twisting” the original universe. He said he had urged the team to “create a character who has a history of being gay, rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, suddenly being revealed as being closeted”.
He has since walked back his comments, clarifying that he was “thrilled” by the development.
Amid the controversy – which has also seen writer Simon Pegg and actor Zachary Quinto weighing in – the son of late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry has spoken out.
Rod Roddenberry told AP in an interview: “I think he would be 100 percent in favour of a gay character in Star Trek. There’s so much going on in the world today. I think he would love any sort of social issue being brought into Star Trek.”
He added: “In a way, it’s George’s character [and] I can understand why he feels strongly about it.
“[But] I don’t see why everyone is bickering about it.
“It’s about f**king time. Let’s just do it.”
In a lengthy Facebook post this week, Takei clarified his position, insisting he was not being a “sourpuss” and is “delighted that the Star Trek franchise has addressed this issue”.
