After nearly a month of controversy known by fans as #Bendergate, voice actor John DiMaggio has officially returned to voice Bender in Hulu’s Futurama revival.
Fans were awake when the 53-year-old actor wasn’t among the original cast members announced for the revival in early February, and he later revealed that he believed he and the rest of the cast deserved higher pay.
The voice actor later revealed that he thought he and the rest of the cast deserved to be paid more, but now an agreement has been reached and DiMaggio is joining the cast, with the actor thanking his fans in a statement (via diverse).
He’s back: After nearly a month of controversy known by fans as #Bendergate, voice actor John DiMaggio is officially back to voice Bender in Hulu’s Futurama revival
Bendergate: Fans were awake when the 53-year-old actor wasn’t among the original cast members announced for the revival in early February, later revealing he believed he and the rest of the cast deserved higher pay.
Statement: The voice actor later revealed that he believed he and the rest of the cast deserved to be paid more, but now an agreement has been reached and DiMaggio is joining the cast, with the actor thanking his fans in a statement (via Variety).
‘I’m back, baby! I’m so grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike throughout this time (especially my wife, Kate), and I can’t wait to get back to work with my family on Futurama,” Dimaggio began.
#Bendergate is officially over, so put it on the back of a shelf behind your Christmas decorations, or maybe in that kitchen drawer with all the other crap you put in there like old unusable crazy glue, or maybe put it in a jar you can keep your farts in, and move on.
Whatever floats your boat, I don’t care, you get the picture. I’m back baby! Metallic Shiny A** Bites! He concluded, using one of Bender’s catchphrases.
John and Kate: I’m back, baby! I am so grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike throughout this time (especially my wife, Kate), and I can’t wait to get back to work with my Futurama family,” Dimaggio began.
Debuting on Fox in 1999, Futurama is an animated series from The Simpsons creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, which followed the crew of a delivery company in the 31st century.
The show ran for four seasons on Fox from 1999 to 2003 before it was cancelled, and was later revived with a series of four straight-to-DVD films released between November 2007 to February 2009.
The popularity of these films – which featured all of the original cast – led Comedy Central to pick up the show for four more seasons that aired from 2010 to 2013.
First appearance: Futurama premiered on Fox in 1999, an animated series from The Simpsons creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, that followed the crew of a 31st-century delivery company
The series stars Billy West as Philip J. Fry, a human who was accidentally frozen himself in the year 1999 and vanished in the year 2999, Katey Sagal as Leela, Trace MacNeil as the computerized mother, Maurice LaMarche as Kev Crocker, Lauren Tom as Amy Wong, Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad, and David Herrmann as Scruffy, with most of the cast voicing several other characters.
Futurama co-creator Matt Groening added, “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had a bender. So congratulations to everyone on ‘Futurama’. We’re all back baby!
David X. Cohen added, “John DiMaggio may be a great robot, but he’s also a great human being. Not many people or machines can say that.”
Bender is back: Futurama co-founder Matt Groening added, “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had a Bender. So congratulations to everyone at Futurama. We’re all back, baby!”
“For the fourth time, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime treat to be back with the all-original cast and phenomenal animators at Rough Draft Studios!” he added.
Hulu announced the revival in early February, and has ordered 20 episodes that will premiere in 2023.
Production was said to begin in February, though it is unclear if production could have started without Dimaggio.
Production: Production was said to begin in February, though it’s unclear if production could have begun without Dimaggio
