As part of Howard's prank, Sheldon almost wore Leia's gold bikini. Here's why The Big Bang Theory cut what would've been its best Star Wars joke.
The Big Bang Theory almost featured Sheldon wearing Leia's gold bikini, and here's why the show decided to cut what could've been its best Star Wars gag. As a sitcom that centered around lead characters who are deep into nerd culture, the CBS sitcom had its fair share of pop culture references. Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj spent their time discussing their love for various franchises, including the one set in a galaxy far, far away.
While Sheldon was admittedly more of a Star Trek follower due to being a die-hard Spock fan, he was also invested in Star Wars with his friends. Throughout The Big Bang Theory's run, there were various Easter eggs from the George Lucas-created saga. The release of J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015 was part of the integral milestone of the Coopers' love story as the socially inept genius opted out of seeing it immediately and instead, spent time with Amy on her birthday. Actors from Star Wars also appeared in the sitcom such as Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and James Earl Jones.
Suffice to say, The Big Bang Theory took every opportunity presented to incorporate Star Wars into its storytelling. However, the show actually walked back on what could've been their best reference. In season 5, episode 21 "The Hawking Excitation," Howard forced Sheldon to wear a french maid outfit to CalTech's cafeteria. This was part of the "12 Labors of Hercules" challenge where he took advantage of his friend's desperation to meet Stephen Hawking, with whom he was working at that time. Wanting nothing but to be introduced to one of his science heroes, Sheldon obliged, which made for a lot of laughs. Originally, however, this prank was going to be much crueler as the script called for him to don a more revealing costume in Leia's Return of the Jedi iconic gold bikini.
In an interview with Conan, Jim Parsons revealed that he outright said no to the idea. Apparently, he didn't get much lead time when Sheldon is meant to do something a bit embarrassing in the show. Explaining why he was set against sporting the Star Wars outfit, he stated he didn't want to show his mid-section, which was unavoidable in Leia's revealing bikini. So, The Big Bang Theory writers had to tone it down and rewrite the scene. Instead of the skimpy costume, it became the french maid's uniform which still exposed much of the actor's legs but left his upper body covered up. Despite the change, the scene still delivered on its intended purpose. It's also one of the few times Howard was able to get back at Sheldon for all of his years bullying him.
Over the years, Parsons and the rest of The Big Bang Theory cast did ridiculous things in the name of the sitcom. But it's nice to know that, ultimately, they're able to decline anything they felt seriously uncomfortable doing. When the aforementioned episode aired the show was already very popular but the actors had not yet started getting their eventual $1 million/episode pay packets. In any case, it didn't have any scarcity in terms of Star Wars-themed outings, so as interesting as it is to think of Sheldon in a bikini, it's for the better that it didn't happen.
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