The hit sitcom that aired on CBS from 2007 to 2019, The Big Bang Theory, focused on the stories of a group of scientist friends over its 12 seasons. The series is one of the best in its genre, and five years after its conclusion, fans got the chance to find out what happened with Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and his wife Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) during all this time.
With the final episode of the spin-off Young Sheldon in mid-May 2024, the prequel crossed paths with The Big Bang Theory, revealing that Sheldon Cooper is still married to Amy and they have two children. Additionally, fans learned that one of them is named Leonard, the same name as Sheldon’s roommate, played by Johnny Galecki.
This connection between the prequel and the main series served to update viewers on what Sheldon Cooper and Amy have been up to, and according to some fans on Reddit, that moment after the end of The Big Bang Theory might have hinted that experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter is dead, which could be why his friend Sheldon decided to name his son after him, as a way to pay tribute.
While there are fans of The Big Bang Theory who support this theory due to the health issues Leonard Hofstadter faced in the CBS series, others completely dismiss it. In a Reddit thread dedicated to discussing whether Johnny Galecki’s character was really dead or not, many users seemed quite skeptical about the viral theory.
Could Leonard Have Died After The Big Bang Theory’s Finale According to Fan Theory?
Others also claimed that from the early seasons of the main show, it was clear that Sheldon Cooper had always been a big fan of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who rose to fame after playing Spock in the original Star Trek series, and it would have been more likely for him to name his son Nimoy rather than his friend Leonard.
One fan refuted the supposed death of Leonard Hofstadter, saying that the writers had no real and meaningful purpose to kill off the character, arguing that the universe of The Big Bang Theory surely has no plans for another spin-off revolving around the story of Leonard and his wife Penny (Kaley Cuoco).
“What we would do if this were a deliberate choice is distract from the death of George Cooper (played by Lance Barber in Young Sheldon), which is not what viewers or the showrunners of Young Sheldon want.”
