‘Big Bang Theory’: Jim Parsons Says ‘Hell No’ to Old Sheldon in 30 Years
The Big Bang Theory ended after 12 seasons. It was largely Jim Parsons’ decision to retire on their own terms. Parsons continues to produce and narrate Young Sheldon. However, he doesn’t consider Old Sheldon a possibility even after he ages into it.
Parsons was a guest on Justin Long’s Life Is Short podcast on Dec. 13. Long blamed his brother for the question but clearly he wanted to know about Old Sheldon too. Parsons was definitive, until he wasn’t so definitive anymore.
Jim Parsons’ ‘Hell no’ to a ‘Big Bang Theory’ reboot may change
By the time The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019, sitcom revivals were already all the rage. Roseanne had already come and flamed out but The Conners are still going. Murphy Brown tried and Will & Grace got three whole extra seasons out of it. 30 more years, Parsons could play Sheldon as a senior citizen but he’s not inclined to.
“At this point, hell no,” Parsons said on Life is Short. “In 30 years, maybe. You’ll have to ask me then. It’ll depend on how nice the beach is I’m living on. If it’s flooded away, I might come back.”
People change in 30 years
Parsons is mature enough to recognize that how he feels right now isn’t how he’ll always feel. It’s still only been three years since The Big Bang Theory ended. Surely a lot of the casts mentioned above thought they were saying goodbye for good when their shows ended the first time. So as Jim Carrey says in Dumb and Dumber, “You’re telling me there’s a chance.”
“It’s so funny, I’m not kidding, life, God willing, life is long,” Parsons said. “It’s not that I don’t trust the way I feel now, it’s the reason I never reread interviews or anything like that becauseI don’t want to be saddled with the opinion I had on some random September in 2002.”
Jim Parsons cringes at his pre ‘Big Bang Theory’ interviews
The Big Bang Theory began in 2007, so any interviews Parsons was doing in 2002 were likely for off-Broadway productions or his roles on Judging Amy and Ed. Still, his comment about an interview he gave, even during the 12 seasons of Big Bang Theory, or after, sticking with him for life is daunting.
“I think that in this industry, that’s a lifelong struggle for some of us,” Parsons said. “I grew up wanting to be a good kid, I grew up wanting to be a good student. There’s a difference between being a good person and selling yourself out in any way to make sure other people are happy with what’s going on.”
Parsons recently starred in the movie Spoiler Alert and still produces Call Me Kat and Young Sheldon. Let’s check back with him in 30 years on Old Sheldon.
