LAST MONTH, upon the release of Justin Lin’s “Star Trek Beyond,” there was a ripple of controversy over the feature-film franchise’s decision to portray the character Sulu as gay, with even George Takei — the popular actor and gay activist who originated the role — questioning the choice to alter late creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision.  Star Trek historian Mark A. Altman, however, lauded the film’s glimpse of this alternative-timeline Sulu with his same-sex partner in a brief shot of a family reunion. “I think that would be commended,” Altman said, “and I don’t think that in any way diminishes Roddenberry’s worldview [of diversity]. It feels very true to the values we have today, and the way we look at multiculturalism.”  [How Star Trek embraced diversity 50 years ago — and continues to do so today]  Then Altman, author of a new Star Trek 50th-anniversary oral history (Volume 2 of “The Fifty-Year Mission” is due out later this month), pivoted to how future Star Trek creative enterprises will reflect social change and acceptance.  “I’m sure in the new series” on the CBS All Access platform, Altman told The Post’s Comic Riffs last month, “we’ll see it dealt with in a much more honest and real and contemporary way, because Bryan Fuller, who is the showrunner, is gay, and so I think he’s going to be very comfortable dealing with these issues.”  Now comes news that Fuller will indeed emphasize such inclusion in his new CBS-platform series, “Star Trek: Discovery.”  “Absolutely we’re having a gay character,” Fuller told the media Wednesday at the show’s Television Critics Association panel in the Los Angeles area.  Back when Fuller was a co-producer and writer on “Star Trek: Voyager,” that ’90s series received a wave of hate mail over the mere rumor that one character might be written as gay. Now, Fuller told the TCA audience, acceptance of LGBT characters has improved greatly, perhaps even making even greater strides in recent years than some other areas of inclusion.  Fuller also noted that “Discovery” will have a woman as the lead character, and that she might be played by an actress of color.  “We live in a world where television is ready to deal with these kinds of things,” Altman told Comic Riffs, “and why shouldn’t it be?”  The fanboy review: How does ‘Star Trek Beyond’ measure up to the films that boldly went before?  ‘Star Trek Beyond’ castmate is heartbroken over Anton Yelchin, whose Chekov role won’t be recast  Star Trek to Star Wars, J.J. Abrams becomes the go-to guardian of our childhood
At TV critics' panel, showrunner Bryan Fuller says that his new CBS All Access show 'Star Trek: Discovery' will 'absolutely' include a gay character.