Star Trek’s John Cho reveals that gay kiss was cut from final film

An intimate scene between Cho and his on-screen husband was left on the cutting room floor
Cut: A kissing scene between John Cho and his on-screen husband did not make the final film
Paramount Pictures
Jennifer Ruby22 July 2016
The Weekender

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John Cho has revealed that a gay kiss was cut from final version of Star Trek Beyond.

The actor, who plays Hikaru Sulu in the latest film in the sci-fi franchise, has said that he filmed a kissing scene with on-screen husband Doug Jung.

Despite being ‘proud’ of the affectionate scene, Cho has admitted that producers decided to leave it on the cutting room floor.

“There is a kiss that I think is not there anymore,” he told Vulture in a recent interview.

“It wasn’t like a make-out session. We’re at the airport with our daughter. It was a welcome-home kiss. I’m actually proud of that scene, because it was pretty tough.”

Although he found the scene difficult to shoot, Cho thought that the it ‘came off well’ in the end.

He said: “Obviously, I just met the kid, and then Doug is not an actor. I just wanted that to look convincingly intimate.

“We're two straight guys and had to get to a very loving, intimate place. It was hard to do on the fly. We had to open up. It came off well, in my view.”

Producers including J.J Abrams and Simon Pegg decided to make the well-known character gay in the new film as a nod to George Takei, who originally played the part.

Speaking to the Guardian, Pegg recently said: “It’s not coy.

Star Trek Beyond European premiere

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“You have to modulate in such a way that it doesn’t become a big thing. That was one of the reasons why we made it an existing character because it felt like part of the fabric.”

Takei himself wasn’t too keen on the character’s change of direction, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I'm delighted that there's a gay character.

“Unfortunately, it's a twisting of Gene's creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it's really unfortunate."

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