After Penny, The Big Bang Theory spin-off hasn’t ruled out Sheldon, Leonard and Howard
After Penny’s return, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe creators have answered the Season 2 cameo question — and their reply could temper hopes of a full reunion.
So, right, if you were wondering just how far Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is ready to lean into The Big Bang Theory nostalgia, the answer from the showrunners is: they’re keen, but don’t hold your breath for everyone back on the sofa at once. Following Penny’s (or, fine, Kaley Cuoco’s) recent cameo, the execs have given their clearest hints yet about who else might be dropping by.
Legacy Cast Cameos: Not Off the Table
The ever-prolific Chuck Lorre and his co-creator Bill Prady have now said (again) that getting more familiar faces is very much on their to-do list. Lorre told Gold Derby they’re absolutely up for having more classic Big Bang types pop by, in whatever new incarnation fits the weird multiverse vibe of Stuart. In his words:
One of the premises of this thing from the very beginning was that the legacy actors from The Big Bang Theory could appear in some other incarnation and make it fun for them as well.
Prady, for his part, admits he’s enjoyed tucking supporting cast into oddball new roles—“finding small parts and recurring those people as well”. The first season already checked off Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, Kunal Nayyar, and Cuoco herself. Lorre called the whole process “a lot of fun”, and said letting them “stretch a little bit” was always factored into the spinoff’s DNA.
Read more: Ryan Murphy has finished the Glee reboot script. Now he's ringing round the original cast.
Sheldon, Leonard, Howard — Don’t Rule It Out
What about the holy trinity—Jim Parsons’ Sheldon, Johnny Galecki’s Leonard, Simon Helberg’s Howard? Prady gave Deadline the classic cryptic: “Tune in next season.” Lorre’s response: don’t write anyone off, but don’t expect miracles, either. If there’s a way to pull off a cameo, they’ll give it a go. His stance:
There’s always a chance. We’re not going to limit ourselves as to cameos. If it’s possible and it can be done, great.
As for more oddball deaths for Tommy Walker’s hapless Gary, apparently it’s not out of the question that he’ll keep kicking the bucket in increasingly bizarre ways. Lorre teased to Gold Derby that viewers can “reasonably expect to see some of them and, perhaps, seeing Tommy Walker die a few more times.” In other words, more running jokes and familiar faces in unlikely places.
When’s it Actually Back?
If you’re tired of waiting an age between seasons: some good news this time. Writers only just got properly started last week, and they’re already targeting an early 2027 airdate. Actual filming is pencilled in for either January or February. Thanks to a not-insignificant tax break from California, the show’s keeping production in Los Angeles, which, if you ask them, is home to the “best crews in the world.” As executive producer Steve Penn (not that Penn) put it, the gap “isn’t going to be like two years between seasons. It’s going to come out next year.”
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe returns in 2027, with filming set for early in the year.
Moral of the story: expect more Big Bang multiverse cameos, and a faster turnaround next time—though the writers are making it up as they go along, so nobody’s promising a full reunion just yet.