Hikaru Sulu will be openly gay in Star Trek Beyond , the actor playing the character, John Cho, revealed in a recent interview.

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John Cho as Sulu in Star Trek Beyond.

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Speaking with Australia's Herald Sun , Cho explained that Sulu will have a same sex partner, which the Herald Sun notes is a nod to George Takei, the original actor to portray Sulu, and a daughter in the upcoming film. Takei is openly gay in real life and began playing Sulu in the original 1960's Star Trek series.Cho noted that Beyond won't make a major point of highlighting this new revelation about Sulu's life."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 politicize one’s personal orientations," Cho said to the Herald Sun Star Trek has not previously featured openly gay characters in its many TV and film incarnations. J.J. Abrams, who helmed the 2009 refresh of the franchise, said in a 2011 interview that he would "bring up" the idea of introducing an openly gay character to his writers while planning 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness after being questioned about the lack of such characters in the franchise.IGN has reached out to Paramount for further information and comment on the reveal and will update this story should they respond. Star Trek Beyond , directed by Fast and Furious helmer Justin Lin, arrives in theaters on July 22. The timeline that Beyond takes place in, which began with the 2009 Star Trek film, recently received an official name . A new Star Trek TV series from executive producer Bryan Fuller is also on its way, currently set to launch in 2017

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him talking about Star Trek Beyond, Podcast Beyond, and all other things beyond on Twitter