Sulu to Be Gay in Star Trek Beyond

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Edited by Robert Beach

As we continue our drive towards the release of Star Trek Beyond, Paramount continues to worry over whether or not they’ll have another viable franchise beyond Transformers.  In addition to that, or possibly because of it, the people behind Star Trek Beyond are ramping up the build up to it, and their latest bid for audience attention in a summer that’s been notoriously lacking in it is announcing that Hikaru Sulu is gay in the new film.  The framing of the statement is a little strange, but that’s the big news, that Star Trek Beyond will feature a scene confirming original crewmember and helmsman Sulu is gay.  Apparently, this comes with a lot of fallout and lot to go over what this means.

 

Star Trek Beyond News Round-Up

If you like this post or want to support the blog, please consider donating

Edited by Robert Beach

Each summer season brings its own crop of questions for the blockbuster season. This year, we had questions like “can WB finally get its act together to make good movie?” (so far: no); “can Marvel produce a movie that’s part solo outing and part Avengers flick and have it work?” (yes) “is there enough ‘90s nostalgia for a new Independence Day? (a definite no)”

One of the few questions still looming over the season is whether or not Paramount’s Star Trek franchise can finally escape the ghetto of directionless mediocrity it’s been stranded in since the 2009 reboot. After Star Trek Into Darkness’s underperformed and lackluster audience response, the “Paramount” forces brought in Justin Lin to try and revive the Trek magic and bring the series back to the dynamite franchise it was 20 years ago. That attempt is Star Trek Beyond, and it’s coming later this month. Let’s see what we know. 

Questions About The New Star Trek Show

In case you hadn’t heard, CBS has finally pulled the trigger on a new Star Trek TV show with a premiere date slotted for 2017.  It’s a pretty major deal as this will be the first Star Trek show on the air in over 10 years since the end of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005.  This also means the show will have to contend with the very odd place Star Trek has come to hold in the pop cultural pantheon after nearly a decade of disappointments like Enterprise and Nemesis before J.J. Abrams films slouched into a position of mild popularity.  

Personally I’m pretty excited, I’m a pretty huge Star Trek fan so the prospect of being able to watch new Star Trek in my life time is incredibly exciting and after CBS’ recent excellent handling of Supergirl my faith in that network has gone way, way up.  What’s more, now is the time for a new Star Trek show.  Star Trek was one of the first and most influential blendings of speculative fiction and space opera that embodied an incredibly pro-tech futurism and an infectious optimism that has been in far too short supply lately.  However, the announcement, which was basically just “we’re making a new Trek show,” has left everyone with a lot of questions that I’m going to go over here.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poster Speculation, Rogue One Photo Implications, & New Episode IX Director

Edited by Robert Beach

D23 happened over the weekend. If you don’t know, that’s a major Disney expo where they start setting up the hype for their new crop of films. A lot of interesting news came out of D23 this year, but most of it was either in the realm of logo posters for Pixar or trailers that haven’t been released to the public from Marvel. 

The big, flashy, reveals so far have come from Star Wars as Disney and J.J. Abrams continue the slow drip of advertising leading up to this winter’s The Force Awakens. D23 saw the first official poster for Force Awakens revealed, the first set and character photos from next year’s Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, and the announcement of who will direct Star Wars Episode IX. 

Star Wars Force Awakens Photo Leaks

So, you’ve probably heard there’s a new Star Wars film in the works; The Force Awakens, first of a new trilogy slotted to open this Christmas.  As befits a new Star Wars film this is a pretty big deal.  Force Awakens will mark the beginning of Disney’s cinematic stewardship of the property and a major step in repairing some of the major tarnishing the franchise suffered throughout the ‘00s.  This is also a pretty big step for director J.J. Abrams.  Abrams has been brewing in Hollywood for a while now as a writer, director, and show runner.  He was the mind behind Lost and Alias as well as the director of the abysmal Star Trek reboots, though to his credit the direction in those films was pretty spot on.  He’s generally synonymous with an infuriating marketing gimmick known as the “mystery box” that involves teasing out very unimpressive reveals about his films via viral marketing and such. 

Thankfully he’s decided to eschew all of his worst impulses when it comes to Star Wars, relying on a marketing campaign that’s preserved the film’s secrecy without making that mystery central to enticing audiences.  Instead the trailers and teasers for Force Awakens have all worked through a unique blend of evocative tone and beautiful iconography.  It’s a ballsy move that just grabs the viewer and says, “this is Star Wars, YOUR Star Wars,” and so far it’s worked like gangbusters.  However info leaks still happen and I’m addressing one here today when a bunch of Force Awakens action figures & set photos leaked online.