Warning: spoilers for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe and Lanterns.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe has turned a supporting character from The Big Bang Theory into the unlikely lead of an HBO multiverse comedy. Its latest detour reaches Gotham City, where the Flash arrives to help the characters. However, the episode originally had another DC hero in mind.
Why Green Lantern was unavailable
The episode title, “Spoiler: We Couldn’t Get Green Lantern,” gives away the abandoned plan. Series co-creator Zak Penn told Deadline that the team was told it could not use Green Lantern because of Lanterns.
That restriction mattered because Lanterns features two versions of the character, Hal Jordan and John Stewart. With the hero reserved for HBO’s other DC series, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe had to find a different way into the wider universe.
The Flash became the better fit
DC still agreed to support the sitcom spin-off, provided Green Lantern was left out. The creative team ultimately chose the Flash, partly because the character’s more playful Golden Age style suited the show’s deliberately silly tone.
It proved to be a useful creative change rather than a simple compromise. The Flash gives the episode its own comic energy, while avoiding a direct overlap with the more serious space-and-detective story being developed in Lanterns.
Only one episode of the current Stuart Fails to Save the Universe season remains. HBO has already renewed the series, and Penn said he would be surprised if future episodes did not continue incorporating details from the DC universe.
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What is next for Lanterns?
Lanterns is also approaching its season finale, with three episodes still to come. The story is returning to the major mystery established in its opening episode: Hal Jordan is believed to be dead in 2026.
John Stewart has returned Hal’s ring to the Guardians and declined to become the new Green Lantern. That leaves the series positioned as a murder mystery, with the circumstances surrounding Hal’s apparent death at the centre of the remaining story.
More Lanterns are on the way
A mid-season trailer indicated that Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan will have a much larger presence in the remaining episodes. The series will also introduce another Lantern: Nathan Fillion is confirmed to reprise his Superman role as Guy Gardner in at least one future episode.
Both HBO productions are performing well enough to continue, so a future crossover cannot be ruled out. For now, the decision to replace Green Lantern with the Flash has given Stuart Fails to Save the Universe a distinct identity rather than making it compete directly with Lanterns.
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