Cho Offically Sulu

I know, I know, it was reported all over the place today that John Cho is now the new Sulu, but, being the ever conscientious news service that we are, we didn’t want to report it until the scuttlebutt could be as confirmed as much as the early morning announcement from Paramount about Simon Pegg taking over the role of Scotty. Slice of SciFi was one of the first news outlets to get out the word about Pegg within micro- seconds after Paramount’s official statement.

Now we can report, without fear of being red-faced (or is that red-shirted?), that the young actor from “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” has officially been cast as Enterprise’s helm officer Hikaru Sulu.

George Takei, the man who turned what was originally designed to be a small part into a major character during the 40 years of the franchise’s existence, released a press statement upon getting the news from Abrams’ people. He told StarTrek.com, the official CBS/Paramount Website for everything Trek, that he is pleased with Abrams’ choice for his famous character.

“Sulu’s in good hands. John Cho is an exciting actor. I’ve seen Cho in many productions at East West Players and he always brings a vigorous sense of individuality to his roles,” stated Takei. “Under the leadership of J.J. Abrams, the Star Trek franchise is being infused with new energy and I hope John Cho plays a critical part for many years — and films — to come.”

George recently reprised his iconic role in the Star Trek New Voyages international release of “World Enough And Time.”

Now all that remains is a final thumbs up from actor Chris Pine for the role of Kirk, also to find out if Shatner will be coming on board and the hunt is still on for a slightly older than a twenty-something actor to portray Dr. Leonard McCoy, the part made so popular by the legendary DeForest Kelley.