Chris Pine feels responsible to protect the ‘Star Trek’ legacy
The 35-year-old actor – who resumes his role as Captain Kirk in ‘Star Trek Beyond’, the third film in the reboot of the franchise – thinks his co-star Simon Pegg was the right choice to pen the script for the latest big screen outing because he has "respect" for the original series.
He said: "The thing that we’ve always managed to take care of is that balance between an energy and respecting the legacy. We know we wouldn’t be anywhere without the ‘Star Trek’ fans, they kept us alive all these years and even before we got there.
"So we have a duty to respect their love for it but we also I hope they enjoy the fact that we have a responsibility to invite new members so Simon was a perfect fit for it."
While Chris thinks Simon is a "perfect fit", the British star’s script hasn’t been without controversy after he portrayed John Cho’s character Hikaru Sulu as homosexual in the new movie.
Simon said of the outcry: "I think the reaction has been brilliant. It’s been amazing. The debate has never been about whether there should be an LGBT character in ‘Star Trek’, it’s been about who it should be, whether it should be a new character or an existing character.
"We felt that this universe – this reality – is that it’s ours now; it’s different to George Takei’s ‘Star Trek’. It’s a new reality and we have the freedom within that to play with things a little bit, and we should play with things a little bit, you shouldn’t hang on to the past.
"I like the idea that it’s an existing character because it means that it feels like that element of ‘Star Trek’ has always been there, it’s important that it seems ordinary. It seems normal because it is normal."
Chris Pine’s Trek responsibility
