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‘It’s about self-respect’: John DiMaggio explains reason why he's not returning for ‘Futurama’ revival

By Christian Imperio Published Feb 17, 2022 12:09 pm

Bender voice actor John DiMaggio has broken his silence over his decision not to reprise his role in the upcoming revival of Futurama.

The 53-year-old actor took to Twitter to explain the reason why he is not returning to voice the foul-mouthed robot in the revival, saying that the original cast members who agreed to reprise their roles deserve to be paid more.

“I’ve been thinking about everything that’s been going on these past months and just to be clear, I don’t think that only I deserve to be paid more. I think the entire cast does,” DiMaggio wrote. “Negotiations are a natural part of working in show business. Everyone has a different strategy and different boundaries… Some accept offers, some hold their ground.”

DiMaggio furthered: “Bender is part of my soul and nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family. It’s about self-respect. And honestly, [it’s about] being tired of an industry that’s become far too corporate and takes advantage of artists’ time and talent… I wish I could give you every detail so you would understand, but it’s not my place. Thanks again for the love everyone. Still hoping for the best.”

Last week, Deadline reported that Hulu has ordered a 20-episode run of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's sci-fi animated comedy with majority of the show’s voice cast expected to reprise their roles such as Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman.

The role of Bender, however, is reportedly being recast ahead of the first table read.

The decision to look for another voice actor was apparently made after DiMaggio’s “negotiations with Futurama studio 20th Television Animation came to a standstill, though there is a desire on both sides to have him rejoin the cast and reprise his role.”

Some fans were not amused when news about the possibility of DiMaggio not returning for the revival broke out. Some of them even threatened to boycott the animated series.

Aside from fans, some voice actors also rallied behind DiMaggio, including prolific voice actor Mark Hamill, who gave assurance that he will not take the role of Bender.

“Please be reassured that I will NOT be auditioning for the role of FAKE Bender. You are one-of-a-kind, pal!” he said.

Voice actor Andrew Kishino also advised other actors not to take the Bender voice acting stint, saying: “Don’t make attempts to slide in on someone else’s spot. That’s a wild greasy maneuver. Respect their position, talent and integrity.”

Meanwhile, James Adomian, who brought to life some characters from Rugrats and Bob's Burgers, also took to Twitter to show his support to DiMaggio, saying: "Everyone in the industry saw the audition notice go out two weeks ago for Bender, asking for a voice match for John DiMaggio. Seeing it, I said out loud 'Shove it!' in my best Bender voice, which will always just be a fanboy cosplay of John DiMaggio."

Deadline’s sources claimed that the offer to DiMaggio “was in line” with fellow actors West and Sagal who agreed after a back-and-forth negotiation. DiMaggio, however, “felt the proposal was not competitive based on the success and name recognition of the original series.”

First aired on Fox, Futurama follows the life of a 25-year-old pizza delivery guy named Philip J. Fry, who accidentally locks himself in a cryogenic machine on Dec. 31, 1999 and wakes up 1,000 years later in the 31st century.

From there, Fry meets his distant nephew Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth and decides to accept his offer to work at his interplanetary delivery company with the one-eyed sewer mutant Leela and robot Bender.

“I’m thrilled to have another chance to think about the future… or really anything other than the present,” said Cohen. For his part, Groening said: “It’s a true honor to announce the triumphant return of Futurama one more time before we get canceled abruptly again.”

The series was created by Groening in the mid-’90s while working on his acclaimed animated TV series, The Simpsons. He then tapped Cohen to work on the storylines and characters and later pitched the show to Fox, which aired the sci-fi series from March 28, 1999 to Aug. 10, 2003.

After the animated series was cancelled on Fox following its four-season run, Futurama aired reruns of its episodes on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, which happened from 2003 to 2007 and then in 2021.

Four direct-to-video films were also produced and later turned into the show’s fifth season consisting of 16 new half-hour episodes.

In 2009, Comedy Central ordered 26 new half-hour episodes which aired in 2010 to 2011. Futurama was later renewed for its seventh and final season in 2012 and aired until 2013.

The critically-acclaimed animated sci-fi show quickly gained a cult following around the world since it premiered in 1999 and won several awards including seven Annie awards and six Emmy awards.

“When presented with the opportunity to bring fans and viewers new episodes of Futurama, we couldn’t wait to dive in,” said Craig Erwich, president of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment. “This iconic series helped blaze the trail for the success of adult animation since its initial launch and we look forward to Matt and David continuing to pave the way and further establishing Hulu as the premiere destination for fans of the genre.”