With the future of the Star Trek film series in jeopardy, one of its leading men said earlier this week that he would be happy to be part of a spinoff movie. John Cho, who plays Hikaru Sulu, pilot of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek reboot series, said that he would gladly portray Sulu in a spinoff film. In an interview with CNET, it was pointed out to Cho that the Star Wars series has had success by producing spinoffs of some of its major characters, notably Han Solo in last May’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Cho’s response was, “If Solo, why not Sulu?” Cho added, “I don’t know if there is a day shooting Star Trek where Chris Pine did not call me Solo.” Cho later joked with CNET, saying his next movie was a secret project entitled Sulu: A Star Trek Story.
On a more serious note, Cho has said that he is unaware of the status of Star Trek 4. Speaking to USA Today, Cho told reporters that while he is sure that Paramount is going forward with the film, he doesn’t know anything about the project. Cho added that he prefers to be kept in the dark on subjects such as this, preferring to let the “powers that be” at Paramount decide what to do with the film. Development on Star Trek 4 was originally delayed when the last film in the franchise, 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, underperformed at the box office, with analysts even suggesting that Paramount might have lost money on the film. Talking to USA Today, Cho revealed that he wasn’t aware that Star Trek Beyond under performed until recently, saying that he simply thought the film was a good movie.
It was revealed earlier this month that production on Star Trek 4 was complicated by the fact that series stars Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth wanted salaries that Paramount was unwilling to pay for the film. Unable to come to an agreement with Pine and Hemsworth, Paramount nonetheless plans on going forward with Star Trek 4. To that end, the studio is in the process of renegotiating with other cast members, who include Cho, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg. Paramount is also hoping to cast The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira as an un-named new character in the film.
