Star Trek’s Hikaru Sulu has come out as gay

Star Trek’s Hikaru Sulu has been revealed to be gay in new flick Star Trek Beyond.

The senior helmsman of the USS Enterprise, played by John Cho, was shown with a same sex partner in the latest flick, which hits cinemas on July 21.

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The decision was made by writer Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin as a nod to George Takei, who played the character in the original 1960s series.

“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,” Cho said.

Takei, 79, an activist for LGBTIQ rights, told News Corp last year that he kept his sexuality a secret when the starred in the Star Trek TV series in 1996.

“If I wanted to work as an actor I had to keep it a secret,” he admitted. “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.”

Star Trek has been breaking new ground since it first aired, and in 1968 it famously featured the first interracial kiss on US TV.

John Cho is currently in Sydney with his co-stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban and Justin Lin promoting Star Trek Beyond.

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