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| Hikaru Sulu | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek character | |
 George Takei as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, from Star Trek (1966). | |
| First appearance |
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| Last appearance |
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| Created by | Gene Roddenberry |
| Portrayed by | George Takei (1966–1996) John Cho (2009–2016) |
| Voiced by | George Takei (2022) |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Hikaru Kato Sulu |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Position |
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| Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
| Children | Demora Sulu |
| Origin | San Francisco,California, Earth (present-day United States) |
Hikaru Kato Sulu[1] is a fictional character in theStar Trek media franchise.[2] A member of the crew in theoriginalStar Trek series, Sulu also appears in theanimatedStar Trek series, in the first sixStar Trek movies, in one episode ofStar Trek: Voyager, and in several books, comics, and video games.[3] Originally known simply as "Sulu", his first name, "Hikaru", appeared in a 1981 novel well over a decade after the original series had ended.
Sulu was portrayed byGeorge Takei in the originalStar Trek series.John Cho took over the role of the character in the 2009 filmStar Trek[4] and its sequels,Star Trek Into Darkness andStar Trek Beyond.
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George Takei recalledGene Roddenberry wanted the character to represent all of Asia, which symbolized the peace of theTrek universe in spite of the numerous wars in the continent. Roddenberry did not want a nationally specific surname, so he looked at a map and saw theSulu Sea in centralPhilippines. "He thought, 'Ah, the waters of that sea touch all shores'," the actor recalled, "and that's how my character came to have the name Sulu."[5][6][7]
In the bookInside Star Trek: The Real Story, the character's name is noted as a pun on the name of vice president of Desilu Studios, Herb Solow.[8]
NovelistVonda McIntyre first presented "Hikaru" as the character's first name in the novelThe Entropy Effect.[9] McIntyre derived the character's first name fromThe Tale of Genji. Although McIntyre was unaware at the time of any controversy surrounding her giving Sulu a first name, editorDavid Hartwell had to clear the name withGene Roddenberry andTakei in order to assuage Paramount's objections.[10] However, the name did not become canon until its mention inStar Trek VI.[11]Peter David has written about making the suggestion to directorNicholas Meyer at the urging of Takei during a visit to the set.[12]: 2–3
In some Japanese dubs, Commander Sulu's family name is changed toKatō. According to Bernardi, Sulu, being a Filipino noun and not aJapanese surname, would likely be unpronounceable by Japanese speakers as the language has no "l" sound distinguished from "r".[13] Ojaste attributes this to a lack of effort at cultural accuracy by the writers at the time in portraying a veritable Japanese character.[14] However, in recent movies, it is only slightly changed; the name スールー (Sūrū, with long vowels) is used, rather than スル (Suru, with short vowels). Although the latter would be a closer transliteration of the name "Sulu", it might sound odd to Japanese audiences because "Suru" (する) with short vowels is the verb "to do" in theJapanese language.
Hikaru Sulu was born inSan Francisco,[15] and is ofJapanese heritage. His birthdate has not been established definitively, but the bookStar Trek Chronology byMichael Okuda andDenise Okuda speculates that he was 29 at the time of the first season ofStar Trek (as was the actor himself), putting his birth in the year 2237.[15] He was shown as theUSSEnterprise's staff physicist in thepilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966).[16]
An earlyParamount press release described this initial conception of his character as follows: "Physicist Sulu is the trim, soft-spoken chief of theEnterprise's Astro Science Department. Frequently it is his assessment of the conditions on unexplored planets that finally determines when and how they will be approached, or if they can be explored at all." However, throughout the rest of the series, he served as third officer and seniorhelmsman, holding the rank oflieutenant.[3] Throughout the series, Sulu is shown having many interests and hobbies, includinggymnastics,botany,[17]fencing,[18] and ancient weaponry.[19] In the episode "The Naked Time" (1966),Spock observes that Sulu "is at heart aswashbuckler out of the 18th century".[18]
The character is promoted tolieutenant commander some time beforeStar Trek: The Motion Picture, and to full commander by the time ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.[15] During the first fiveStar Trek movies, he serves as helmsman aboard both the USSEnterprise andUSSEnterprise-A.[3] He is promoted to captain and given command of the USSExcelsior three years before the events ofStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.[15]
Star Trek Generations introduces Hikaru's daughter, Demora Sulu,[3] whose origins are also depicted inPeter David'scanon novelThe Captain's Daughter.[20]
John Cho portrays an alternate Sulu in the 2009 filmStar Trek.J. J. Abrams was concerned about casting a Korean-American as the character, but Takei explained to the director that Sulu was meant to represent all of Asia on theEnterprise, so Abrams went ahead with Cho.[21] Cho acknowledged that being an Asian-American, "There are certain acting roles that you are never going to get, and one of them is playing a cowboy. Playing Sulu is a realization of that dream—going into space." He cited the masculinity of the character as being important to him, and spent two weeks fight training.[22] Cho suffered an injury to his wrist during filming, although a representative noted it was "no big deal".[23]James Kyson Lee was interested in the part, but becauseZachary Quinto was cast as Spock, the producers of the TV showHeroes did not want to lose another cast member for three months.[citation needed]
Cho portrays a younger Sulu in the 2009 film, though he is actually older than Takei was when he portrayed the role in the original series; Cho was 36 while Takei was 29. Cho also portrays Sulu in the 2013 sequelStar Trek Into Darkness, taking up the role of acting captain on the USSEnterprise when both Kirk and Spock were absent. At the film's climax Sulu admits to Kirk that he wouldn't mind being a captain, referencing his role as captain of theUSS Excelsior in the original film series.
In the third film,Star Trek Beyond, Sulu is portrayed as a gay man with a husband and daughter. WriterSimon Pegg and directorJustin Lin made the decision as a nod to original actor George Takei, who had become a prominentLGBT rights activist since portraying the character in the original series.[24] Takei disliked the idea, and attempted to persuade the filmmakers to create a new gay character rather than revealing Sulu ascloseted, saying, "Unfortunately, it's a twisting of Gene's creation, to which he put in so much thought."[25] Pegg replied that he felt it was unfortunate that "the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction" had never featured an LGBT character, but that revealing an existing character as gay avoided creating the impression oftokenism. Pegg also said that Sulu had never been closeted, but that his sexuality had simply never come up, and suggested that Roddenberry would have explored LGBT themes in the original series if he had had the opportunity.[26]
Takei reprised the role of Sulu, as part ofStar Trek's 30th anniversary, in theStar Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback"[27] aired in 1996. In the episode,Captain Sulu appears inTuvok's flashbacks of his time serving aboard the USSExcelsior, during events depicted inStar Trek VI.[3] Sulu is also responsible for another future USSVoyager crew member (Chakotay) joiningStarfleet.
The non-canon fan productionStar Trek: New Voyages episode "World Enough and Time" starredTakei as Captain Sulu on theExcelsior recalling a time on the originalEnterprise when atransporter accident caused him to come back thirty years older and with a daughter, Alana. Demora also appears in this episode, as well as Hikaru's granddaughter (named Alana in his daughter's honour).[citation needed]
Grant Imahara portrayed Hikaru Sulu in all 11 episodes of the fan film web seriesStar Trek Continues.[28]
TheLost Era novelThe Sundered[29] depicts a USSExcelsior mission under Sulu's command.
The novelForged in Fire[30] depicts an earlier USSExcelsior mission prior to Sulu's assuming command of the ship.
The novelization ofStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home includes an encounter in 1986 San Francisco intended to be included in the final film but ultimately cut[31] between Sulu and a young Japanese-American boy who asks, "What are you doing here, Uncle Hikaru?" After conversing with the boy and learning his name, Sulu realizes that the boy is his great-great-grandfather. In another part of the novel as he borrows a helicopter to deliver the whale tank materials, it is revealed that Sulu is partFilipino, as he converses about the PhilippinePeople Power Revolution which had just occurred earlier in 1986.
Simon & Schuster Audioworks released three non-canonCaptain Sulu Adventures, featuring voice acting by Takei and various others, in the mid-1990s:Transformations,[32]Cacophany,[33] andEnvoy.[34]
The reference bookFederation: The First 150 Years, byDavid A. Goodman, contains an audio introduction by Admiral Hikaru Sulu,[35] indicating that at some point Sulu is promoted to admiral, although this is non-canonical.
In theWilliam ShatnerStar Trek novels, it is revealed that Sulu is elected to an unprecedented three terms as President of theUnited Federation of Planets.[36]
In the TV showScrubs,Turk wants to be married by a priest who looks like Sulu. The priest is actually played by Takei.[37]
Takei reprised the role of Captain Sulu in the PC gameStarfleet Command 2, released in December 2000. The introduction video features Takei, as Captain Sulu on board the USSExcelsior, describing the outbreak of an interstellar war between several galactic powers as part of hisCaptain's Log. Later updates to the game also included several bonus voice-scripted missions, that again featured Takei as Sulu.
In scientific illustratorJenny Parks' 2017 bookStar Trek Cats, Sulu is depicted as aJapanese Bobtail.[38]
Robert Justman, co-producer of the originalStar Trek series, noted that Takei had previously played bad guys, but throughStar Trek had become one of the first Asian actors to portray an Asian character in a positive light. Justman described him as "the antithesis of the so-called expressionless-unemotional-inscrutable Asian."[This quote needs a citation]
In 2017,Screen Rant ranked Hikaru Sulu the 15th-most attractive person in theStar Trek universe.[39]
In 2018,CBR ranked Sulu the 17th-bestStarfleet character ofStar Trek.[40] In 2018,TheWrap placed Sulu as 19th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of theStar Trek franchise prior toStar Trek: Discovery.[41] In 2016, Sulu was ranked as the 18th most important character of Starfleet within theStar Trek science fiction universe byWired magazine.[42]
In 2019, Hikaru Sulu was ranked the 9th-sexiestStar Trek character bySyfy, In betweenHugh Culber (10th) andJean-Luc Picard (8th).[43]
Lost a wonderful scene scheduled for Sulu in ST IV. Little boy to play George's grandfather in San Francisco wouldn't stop crying. LLAP
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