Takei objected to reboot Sulu being significantly different from original series Sulu because he wants the reboot to conform, as much as practical, to Trek as created by Roddenberry. He was not, of course, involved in the decision to limit the cast to the characters from the original series — in other words, to either “convert” an existing character or have no gays at all.

Sulu was a compromise from the start. NBC did not allow a Chinese character because China was, at the time, a communist country that was supporting an enemy (North Vietnam) in a war against the United States. The much discussed Kirk-Uhura kiss was a breakthrough but a Sulu-Rand romance (hinted at in 1st season episode The Man Trap) would have been even more ahead of its time.