Pegg, who penned the movie script in addition to starring in it, writes on his website that the movie takes place in an alternate reality with 'full of new and alternate possibilities.'
- Jul 13, 2016
AceShowbiz - Simon Pegg was one "Star Trek Beyond" actors who strongly disagreed with George Takei over the latter's comment about gay Sulu. Now, the British actor/writer has offered a lengthy explanation as to why gay Sulu is possible in the latest movie.
Using physics, Pegg refuted assumption that revealing Sulu as a gay is not canon given that the "Kelvin" timeline was created in 2233, while Sulu was born on Earth in 2230. This brought Takei to conclusion that Sulu had been closeted in the previous movies and TV series.
On Monday, July 11, Pegg took to his website to say that the movie is set in an alternate reality with "full of new and alternate possibilities." He wrote, "John Cho does not play a young George Takei, nor does he play the same character George Takei played in the original series. He is a different Sulu. This brings me to the second point of contention, Canon."
He went on explaining, "With the Kelvin timeline, we are not entirely beholden to existing canon, this is an alternate reality and, as such is full of new and alternate possibilities. 'BUT WAIT!' I hear you brilliant and beautiful super Trekkies cry, 'Canon tells us, Hikaru Sulu was born before the Kelvin incident, so how could his fundamental humanity be altered?' Well, the explanation comes down to something very Star Treky; theoretical, quantum physics and the less than simple fact that time is not linear."
"Sure, we experience time as a contiguous series of cascading events but perception and reality aren't always the same thing," Pegg continued, "Spock's incursion from the Prime Universe created a multidimensional reality shift. The rift in space/time created an entirely new reality in all directions, top to bottom, from the Big Bang to the end of everything. As such this reality was, is and always will be subtly different from the Prime Universe."
"This means, and this is absolutely key, the Kelvin universe can evolve and change in ways that don't necessarily have to follow the Prime Universe at any point in history, before or after the events of Star Trek '09, it can mutate and subvert, it is a playground for the new and the progressive," he concluded. "I know in my heart, that Gene Roddenberry would be proud of us for keeping his ideals alive. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, this was his dream, that is our dream, it should be everybody's."
Of why they chose Sulu as a gay character, he said, "The fact is, we chose Sulu because of George [Takei], there was something sweet and poetic about it. Introducing a new gay character had its own set of problems, as I mentioned before, the sexuality of that character would have to be addressed immediately and pointedly and the new characters in 'Star Trek Beyond' have enough on their plate, without stopping to give us the intimate details of their personal lives. We were concerned it might seem clumsy, tokenistic or worse, too little too late, raising and exasperated, 'finally!' from those who've been waiting for representation for the last 50 years."
The debate about gay Sulu aside, Pegg and his co-stars including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella as well as director Justin Lin attended the U.K. premiere of the film in London on Tuesday. Zoe Saldana, meanwhile, was not seen at the event held at Empire Leicester Square.
The follow-up to "Star Trek Into Darkness" follows the USS Enterprise crew who explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test. It is set to open in theaters across the nation on July 22.
