It looks like we’re (fully) back now, baby! Futurama, the classic animated comedy from the mind of Matt Groening, received a sudden revival just a few short weeks ago. This was about 9 years after the original finale in 2013. It all came to light thanks to Hulu. Due to a recent trend in Futurama‘s popularity due to a specific coronavirus strain, Hulu saw a lot of traffic for the show. The whole Futurama cast was ecstatic to return, except for John DiMaggio. He, in a very Bender-esque way, had an agenda to fill before he promised his services. And now, after weeks of negotiation, it seems John DiMaggio will be rounding out the Futurama revival with Bender’s return!
DiMaggio Wanted Better Pay for the Voice Cast
While Bender is the lovable selfish jerk of the Futurama cast, John DiMaggio is anything but. The reason that negotiations took so long for him was for a selfless reason. DiMaggio thought that the cast wasn’t being paid enough. This group of voice actors worked incredibly hard on the original, with some (like Billy West) taking multiple roles. So John DiMaggio wanted a fair day’s pay for this Futurama revival to go forward. Now that they have it, we have our robot back. And really, what would this show be without him?
Futurama is a show that has always been spot on with its satire. From election jokes to dystopian future cracks, it never missed a shot. And one of the most central parts of selling this is the over-the-top Bender. Many of the top Futurama episodes feature him. Furthermore, he’s one of the main characters next to Fry and Leela! You can’t exactly run a delivery company without a swiss-army-robot at hand. Thankfully, we won’t have to see a future where that comes to hand. Finally, with the whole cast ready, development can begin in earnest. Let’s hope they can win themselves a Clippy with the new season.