For all of its exploration of social issues via science fiction, Star Trek hasn't always been as progressive as it might be in terms of its main characters. There have been nods to LGBTQ people in one or two stories and in the spin-off novels, but now John Cho has revealed that the Kelvin timeline's Sulu is gay.
Talking with Australia's Herald Sun, Cho revealed that Sulu will be shown in Star Trek Beyond as the father of a daughter with his husband. “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 politicise one’s personal orientations,” he says.
According to Cho, the decision was made by writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung partly because it's a heartfelt nod to George Takei, the openly gay actor most associated with the Sulu role (though he himself has now said he's not completely on board with the idea{
Beyond finds the crew facing their biggest challenge yet as they're attacked by a powerful new threat (Idris Elba's Krall) in the middle of their five-year mission to explore strange new worlds. The film itself is out here on July 22 and you can find much more about it in the latest issue of Empire, which also boasts (in both printed and digital versions) a huge supplement about Star Trek's 50-year history.