He hasn’t been seen on movie screens since he first rode off into the sunset as Captain of the Excelsior in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, but it looks like George Takei is back as Sulu. TrekWeb has picked up an interview with Takei in Starburst magazine which they say indicates Takei will be in JJ Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek movie.

That brings the original Trek cast count to two, with Leonard Nimoy already set to play a pretty major role in the film. Still not in the movie is William Shatner, and I’m alright with that. Shatner had his death scene in Star Trek Generations. His character had his exit. Nimoy and Takei haven’t gotten that yet, unlike a lot of the original series cast neither of them appeared in Generations, so this is their chance.

No word on how much Takei will be in the movie, but TrekWeb says he’ll be involved in a flash forward sequence between Sulu and Spock. John Cho has already been cast to play a younger version of Hikaru Sulu, so maybe George’s role will only be a cameo, but at least he’s in it. Good for you George.

Update! The guys over at TrekMovie claim the report in Starburst magazine is erroneous, but until we get some sort of official confirmation one way or another, there's no way to be certain on this one. Hopefully at some point Takei himself will have something to say.