Young Sheldon's Lance Barber Thinks The Multidimensional Universe Fan Theory Is Hilarious

"Young Sheldon" may be a prequel and a spin-off to "The Big Bang Theory," but that doesn't mean that the two series don't contradict each other sometimes. For example, the character of George Cooper Sr. was changed to be more sympathetic than he was depicted in Sheldon's recollections of him in "The Big Bang Theory." However, it's possible that adult Sheldon is simply an unreliable source of information about his own father. CBR also points out an incongruity in Sheldon's character, noting that young Sheldon has done a lot of growing as a person, and adult Sheldon shows none of that growth at the beginning of "The Big Bang Theory."

Fans have noticed the inconsistency in Sheldon's character from the prequel to the original series. In a Reddit thread in the r/bigbangtheory subreddit, u/TheoryWriter points out, "Young Sheldon acts like an adult and is more independent. Adult Sheldon is seen and sometimes treated as a child by his friends." However, some fans saw ways that this might not be an inconsistency, as a lot is likely to happen to Sheldon between the events of "Young Sheldon" and the beginning of "The Big Bang Theory." "I think it's just young Sheldon is mature for his age, just like adult Sheldon would be mature for young Sheldon's age but at a point, Sheldon stopped maturing and people his age moved past him," wrote u/soundwithdesign. Whether or not "Young Sheldon" will explain this discrepancy remains to be seen, but inconsistencies like this are pretty typical in sitcoms.

Still, some fans have a different theory that "Young Sheldon" and "The Big Bang Theory" take place in different universes, a theory that Lance Barber (George Sr.) finds laughable.

Fan theories have popped up on social media suggesting that "Young Sheldon" might appear in an alternate universe. In a 2018 thread in the r/YoungSheldon subreddit, u/ykickamoocow111 suggested this theory, pointing out that Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" said that he moved out on his own at the age of 12, which would only give the show another two seasons. Another user, u/bebesee, said that it could be fun if they made it an alternate universe as they didn't want to see George Sr. have an affair, which is brought up on "The Big Bang Theory."

However, in a 2022 interview with ET, Lance Barber laughed off the fan theories that the prequel and the original show don't take place in the same reality. "It's nonsense," Barber told ET. "It's an actor playing a different part." Barber suggests that the inconsistencies are simply a matter of two different actors interpreting their characters differently.

It's notable that "Young Sheldon" already showed fans what life would be like in an alternate universe to the one "Young Sheldon" takes place in. In the Season 4 episode "A Black Hole," the family discusses black holes and alternate universes at the dinner table, and they imagine a universe in which Sheldon and Missy's personalities are switched. They also imagine what would happen if Sheldon managed to meet another version of himself from an alternate universe, at which point Missy predicted their egos would get in the way of them getting any work done.