Lanterns Forced Another HBO Show to Change Its Plot, and It Was for the Best
The HBO series Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, a multiversal dark comedy spinoff from The Big Bang Theory, was forced to alter its plot due to scheduling conflicts with DC’s streaming series Lanterns.
In a recent episode set in Gotham City, the show’s creators originally planned to feature Green Lantern as a rescue character but were told by HBO and DC that the character was unavailable. Series co-creator Zak Penn revealed to Deadline that “they told us we couldn’t have him because of Lanterns.” The character was ultimately replaced with The Flash.
The conflict highlights how interconnected creative productions can create unexpected constraints. Lanterns, a forthcoming DC streaming series focused on the Green Lantern mythos, has priority over the character’s use in other DC-related projects. Rather than delay production or pursue extensive negotiations, the Stuart team pivoted to use an alternative DC hero who was available.
Despite the forced change, Penn indicated the swap worked well for the episode. The substitution demonstrates how streaming series and spinoffs must navigate complex intellectual property arrangements, even when stories take unexpected turns into shared universes. The incident underscores the challenges of collaborative storytelling within major media franchises, where multiple projects compete for access to the same characters and storylines.