Fans of the animated series Futurama were delighted to hear that the show would be getting a revival, with new episodes in development for streaming service Disney Plus. Fans were not happy, however, to learn that John DiMaggio, the voice of rowdy robot Bender, was the only original cast member not joining the revival. Thankfully, the whole Futurama family is now complete, as John DiMaggio has now been confirmed to return in a dramatic U-turn.
It just wouldn’t be Futurama without the iconic voice of DiMaggio as the loveable rogue, but apparently, the decision-makers behind the Hulu revival thought they could do without the voice actor. The plan was to recast DiMaggio, while every other cast member was set to return.
Negotiations with DiMaggio reportedly hit some hurdles, which appear to be due to the actor’s belief that he and the rest of the cast should be paid more. The idea of a Futurama without DiMaggio caused an uproar among the fans of the sci-fi series, with threats to boycott the show if the actor wasn’t a part of it.
The incredible fan response to #Bendergate seems to have done the trick, as Disney has announced John DiMaggio will now return for the Futurama revival, meaning the whole original cast will be back together once more.
“I’M BACK, BABY! So damn grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike during this whole time and I cannot wait to get back to work with my Futurama family,” DiMaggio says. “#Bendergate is officially over. I’M BACK, BABY! BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS,” He adds.
It seems DiMaggio is just as excited and happy about this news as the fans. And they’re not the only ones, with the show’s creator, Matt Groening saying, “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had our Bender. So congrats to everyone at Futurama.”
Futurama has been given the greenlight for 20 new episodes, with the series set to go into production this Spring. The TV series is slated for a 2023 release.