Simon Pegg has added his voice to the debate regarding the sexuality of iconic Star Wars character Hikaru Sulu. Pegg stars as Scotty in the new Star Trek flick, Star Trek: Beyond. Pegg also co-wrote the latest addition in the sci-fi franchise. He responded to remarks by George Takei, who criticized the decision to make his character Sulu ? now played by John Cho ? openly gay. Takei said that making Sulu gay was "unfortunate" since it went against the vision of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry. Pegg justified the change by saying "I have huge love and respect for George Takei, his heart, courage and humor are an inspiration. However, with regards to his thoughts on our Sulu, I must respectfully disagree with him." Takei had suggested that a new, openly gay character be added to film, instead of changing the nature of an existing character. Pegg's rebuttal: "We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the ?gay character?, rather than simply for who they are, and isn?t that tokenism??