Late this afternoon, a story quickly ripped across the internet that original Star Trek series star George Takei was set to reprise his role of Hikaru Sulu in a flash forward scene in J J Abrams’ currently in production Star Trek franchise reboot. Reportedly, he would appear in a flash forward scene with original Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy, whose appearance in the film has already been confirmed.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t true.
Oh my!
We can thank the folks over at Trek Movie Report for debunking the rumor. Rather than just repeat the story, which can be traced back to British genre magazine Starburst, the site contacted Brad Altman, Takei’s business manager and partner, who told the site “The Starburst Magazine article is erroneous, we will be as surprised as the fans if George is in Star Trek XI.”
Currently, Takei is in production on the film The Red Canvas, which will be released next year.
I find myself a bit disappointed at this particular bit of rumor debunking. I’ve become a fan of Takei in large part due to his many appearances on Howard Stern’s Sirius Satellite Radio talk show, where he has displayed an incredible sense of humor, even when the joke may be at his own expense. He has also been refreshingly candid about the less than ideal relationship he and other Trek castmembers shared with series star William Shatner. Trek Movie Report also stated that Takei is scheduled to appear on Stern’s show next week, so perhaps he’ll address this recent rumor. At least, he should dish some more dirt on Shatner.
