Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Reportedly Set for "Big" SDCC Panel

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Posted in: Conventions, Events, HBO, Max, Pop Culture, san diego comic con, TV | Tagged: stuart fails to save the universe, The Big Bang Theory

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Reportedly Set for "Big" SDCC Panel

It appears HBO Max's "The Big Bang Theory" spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, will make its presence known during SDCC 2026.

Published Sat, 23 May 2026 18:37:11 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

  • Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is reportedly getting a big SDCC 2026 panel timed to its July 23 HBO Max premiere.
  • Brian Posehn teased the Stuart Fails to Save the Universe panel, with Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, and castmates expected.
  • The Big Bang Theory spinoff follows Stuart after a Sheldon and Leonard device triggers a multiverse-level reality crisis.
  • Chuck Lorre stayed coy on Big Bang Theory returns, but strongly hinted fans may love who appears in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

If nothing else, no one can claim that EPs Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady's upcoming "The Big Bang Theory" spinoff was just a rehash of the original series. In fact, it's far, far from it. HBO Max's Stuart Fails to Save the Universe sees comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. Stuart finds himself aided in his quest by his girlfriend, Denise (Lauren Lapkus), his geologist friend, Bert (Brian Posehn), and the quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass, Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie). Co-starring Ryan Cartwright (Kevin Can Wait), Josh Brener (Silicon Valley), and Tommy Walker (Danger Force), the series is set to premiere on July 23rd, which just so happens to coincide with San Diego Comic-Con 2026 (SDCC 2026). Why's that important? Because Posehn shared during a recent edition of the Nerd Poker podcast (and first reported by SDCC Unofficial Blog!) that there will be a "big 'Staurt Fails the Universe' panel" at SDCC 2026, with Sussman, Lapkis, Posehn, and Bowie expected to attend.

Image: HBO Max; Comic-Con International

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: Will "Big Bang Theory" Cast Return?

Of course, when you're a spinoff from a very popular long-running series, fans will start asking questions about who from the original cast might appear. But when your official overview name drops Jim Parsons' Sheldon Cooper and Johnny Galecki's Leonard Hofstadter and includes a reference to "alternate-universe versions of characters we've gotten the meet over the course of the original series' run," the questions are begging to be asked – and Lorre was kind enough to answer them (as much as possible) during an interview with TV Line in support of Netflix's Leanne Morgan-starring comedy Leanne.

Will Parsons/Sheldon and Galecki/Leonard Appear in the Series? "I cannot speak to that. That is a closely guarded piece of information that, you know… I've taken a blood oath regarding."

Will Parsons, Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, Melissa Rauch, and/or Mayim Bialik Return to Play Alt-Universe Versions of Their "Big Bang Theory" Characters?

Here's how the exchange went down:

Lorre: "Is that your hope?"

Interviewer: "It would be my hope, and I think millions of—"

Lorre: "You're going to love this show."

Image: HBO Max

"I wanted to do something radical that would take me out of my comfort zone. Something the characters on 'The Big Bang Theory,' would have loved, hated, and argued about," Lorre shared about the premise behind the spinoff. Penn added, "I was on a vision quest in the most remote parts of the Amazon Rainforest when a carrier pigeon arrived with a note from Chuck Lorre asking if I wanted to help make a show that the characters from 'Big Bang Theory' would watch. I couldn't resist that idea, so I packed up my yurt and hailed the next dirigible out. At the same time, Chuck sent an expedition to locate Bill Prady, who had been frozen with his shield across his chest in a block of arctic ice. The team assembled, we set out to make this insane show, which lives in a universe created by Chuck and Bill. I couldn't be more honored to be working with these amazing people."

HBO Max's Stuart Fails to Save the Universe stems from Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady serve as executive producers.

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