Has there ever been a show that was canceled and restarted as often as Futurama? The show has been announced to return, yet again, this time on Hulu, a streaming service owned by The Walt Disney Company. However, not all is rosy for the reassembling of the cartoon that last aired original episodes in 2013.
The majority of the main cast are set to return, including Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman.
John DiMaggio, however, has not yet signed onto the project, with his character currently set to be recast. DiMaggio voices the felonious beer-swigging robot Bender, as well as other minor characters.
It is reported that both Hulu and DiMaggio are keen to reach an agreement.
— Louis Chilton, Yahoo! News
There are four key characters in Futurama: the professor, Frye, Leela, and Bender. While other characters are certainly important, those big four are hard to imagine being played by anyone other than their main actors except if there were a tragedy keeping them from fulfilling the role. The idea of Bender being voiced by anyone other than the iconic DiMaggio is difficult for some fans to accept.
Bad move #Futurama @TheJohnDiMaggio is hugely responsible for the success of the show. Voice actors, loved by fans r treated insanely unfair by #Hollywood. They love making us feel replaceable & get away with paying a fraction of what on camera celebs make. Time to close the gap https://t.co/8BjT60ssIh
— tara strong (@tarastrong) February 10, 2022
Here’s the deal @hulu, us Futurama fans have spoken. The revival MUST HAVE @TheJohnDiMaggio. He is the one and only Bender. Thanks for listening. #JohnDiMaggioIsBender https://t.co/xSWCjLCKkI
— Griffin Shaffer (@GriffinShaffer) February 10, 2022
The good news is that this may be a case of Deadline giving out “slanted” news. While DiMaggio has not yet signed on, some outlets are reporting that he is in the final swing of negotiations. Wonder if someone leaked that he hadn’t’ signed yet to gain leverage? In the course of a few hours, the story has gone from “they’ll recast if necessary,” to “they’re hopeful,” to “they’re in the final phase of negotiating the contract.” Hmm…
I have to say, Deadline’s article title is about the most ludicrous and misleading headline you’ll ever see. Judge for yourself if the following headline is accurate for an actor working to finalize a contract:
Futurama’ Revived At Hulu With Original Cast, John DiMaggio Not Returning As Bender – For Now
All of the drama set aside, congratulations to the cast, crew, and Matt Groening (the creator) for — once again — getting Futurama back into space!
Are you excited for the new twenty episodes? Let us know in the comments below. And keep checking out That Park Place for all the latest news that should be fun!
