The Big Bang Theory's Simon Helberg Has Landed His Next Project... And It's Not TV

Howard older on The Big Bang Theory

It’s still a little bit difficult for me to believe The Big Bang Theory ended nearly half a year ago. In the time since the CBS series wrapped, the main actors on the show have all moved on to various TV, movie, and even producing gigs. Now, we've learned that Simon Helberg, who took a bit of a break from acting after the show ended, has found his Big Bang Theory follow-up.

However, the actor will not be heading back to television with his first gig after the long-running CBS sitcom ended. Instead, Simon Helberg has joined the cast of a musical romance film called Annette. The new project is already moving forward at a rapid clip.

In fact, it’s already in production, with Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver starring in the film. Those two names will play an opera star and a comedian, respectively, who live in Los Angeles and will sing their way through a love story. Simon Helberg will play a character named The Conductor in the film. The news comes after Simon Helberg did some producing work in 2019 on Elvis Goes There.

The actor has become a household name thanks to playing the sometimes smarmy Howard Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory. He’s also taken other roles, particularly on the big screen in recent years, including turns in Paint it Black and a role in Florence Foster Jenkins. So, another big screen gig is not totally unprecedented.

According to Deadline, music producer Marius de Vries and the rock band Sparks are behind the project. The former was also involved with the successful ventures La La Land and Bohemian Rhapsody. The latter band wrote new music for Annette. It will be the latest big screen venture to be a full-on musical that will mostly play out through musical numbers. I'm honestly interested to see if this trend continues to hit with audiences in 2020.

Amazon Studios is distributing the movie stateside. The studio is a streamer, but it has a good track record of working with theaters for limited releases ahead of making projects available via streaming. So, if Annette ends up being one worth screening on a big screen, fans should have the opportunity.

Meanwhile, Simon Helberg’s other cast members from The Big Bang Theory have all moved on to various other projects. Mayim Bialik has a two-year deal with Warner Bros. TV Group to bring her back to television; she will also produce a new series with her co-star Jim Parsons. Kaley Cuoco will be voicing Harley Quinn for DC Universe. Kunal Nayyar has a film called Sweetness in the Belly and voice work in Trolls World Tour coming up.

Jim Parsons has even been cast in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Hollywood series along with his continued work on Young Sheldon.

A Full Look At What The Big Bang Theory Cast Is Doing After The Finale

Clearly, the main cast members are all moving on and I can't wait to see what they achieve next.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.