Futurama

I recall hearing an interview with Kevin Conroy once, where he said that it's actually much easier to replicate a voice than to originate one (in his case, Troy Baker can actually do a pretty dead-on Kevin Conroy impression). I'd prefer it if they could still get Di Maggio (don't see why they couldn't, he's still very much a working voice actor, and he loves doing Bender) but it probably wouldn't be that difficult for them to find a voice match.

Part of me holds out hope that they'll address the pay dispute and Di Maggio will return, because I genuinely cannot think of anyone else voicing Bender. That's kind of the role that put him on the map to being a big-name voice actor. It'd be like casting literally anyone else to voice Homer Simpson instead of keeping Dan Castellaneta.

Yet at the same time...should Futurama come back? The Comedy Central seasons were a mixed bag altogether, but I worry if the quality of new episodes would be even worse.

Plus the finale was a pretty decent way to end.

Meanwhile was a pretty sweet way to finish.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."

I was going to mention the finale, but then I remembered that the original Fox run *already* ended with a very good finale, so I don't really see that as an inherent point against reviving the series. Though admittedly, "Meanwhile" is probably one of the most beloved of the attempted series finales, so I can see why some people would be apprehensive about following it up.

I'm more worried about the writers going back to addressing topics that'll wind up dating themselves quickly. The worst Comedy Central episodes had that issue in a way the original Fox run largely didn't.

Edited by Diana1969 on Feb 9th 2022 at 11:57:34 PM

What I'm wondering is why the series isn't on Disney Plus. It's not inherently any less kid-friendly (most of the time, anyway) than The Simpsons, and that's on Disney Plus.

Btw curious. Why is the thread named Series/Futurama? Shouldn't it be Western Animation/Futurama?

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."

Does Disney own the rights?

I can only assume that, for whatever reason, they deem the series as not fitting the mold of the Disney+ brand, so it became a Hulu project instead. Maybe it was pitched to the Hulu side of things first? Who knows.

They own 20th Century Fox, so yes, they own Futurama.

*laughs in Canadian*

Fox owns the majority legal rights to the the show, but Matt Groening himself owns the creative rights.

Unlike KOTH, I think Futurama can actually pull it off. Although, I have to watch Johnny 2 Cellos' video again to remember what else they can pull it off.

I just hope Zoidberg doesn't break up with his girlfriend off-screen.

John DiMaggio not voicing Bender is the equivalent of Seth MacFarlane not voicing Stewie. We can't let this happen!

Edited by HBarnill on Feb 9th 2022 at 7:49:08 AM

I’m ambivalent about this, Futurama already had multiple good series’ finales. Still, as long as Groening and co. can continue to make good episodes I suppose there’s no reason not to do it.

Edited by CheapMarzipan on Feb 9th 2022 at 10:02:38 AM

It would suck to lose DiMaggio as Bender, as its one of his most iconic roles and his surly but energetic performance might be hard to replicate.

I really hope they do manage to bring him back, especially if everyone else is coming back on board. I'm not going to immediately dismiss a new voice actor for Bender, as I'd rather wait to see what their performance is like. But it will probably take some getting used to.

While DiMaggio hasn't said anything yet, he's been retweeting folks complaining about his absence, which I guess says a lot.

Edited by HBarnill on Feb 9th 2022 at 8:26:56 AM

I believe the thread is named Series/ and not Western Animation/ because that's how the Wiki was organized way way back when this thread was started.

I know that Billy West said in interviews he specifically made Fry's voice basically himself (a young version of himself) to make it harder to recast him.

At least the series hasn't had a significant quality dip in what already exists (though a lot of the Comedy Central shows feel weaker, it may just seem that way because they're less familiar) and is only poised to lose one cast member. I don't oppose this as strongly as when they announced a sixth season of Community that felt like it really only existed after an awful season and a mediocre season hemorrhaging cast members because they'd been pushing so hard on Six Seasons And A Movie.

Fresh-eyed movie blog

Probably not a coincidence this was announced on the Season 4 premiere for Disenchantment.

As Disenchantment is Netflix and this revival is Hulu, that's probably a pretty expensive decision.

Netflix: Matt Groening, please make us a show that brings your sense of humor that made The Simpsons and Futurama popular.

Groening: Okay, here's Disenchantment.

Hulu: Here's a bucket of money, can we have more Futurama?

Futurama: There's not enough here for DiMaggio.

Hulu: That's fine, you should see what we left out of Animaniacs.

Edited by TParadox on Feb 9th 2022 at 1:06:41 PM

Fresh-eyed movie blog

If Billy West and Katey Sagal don't come back as Fry and Leela, I'm sure Eric Bauza and Jennifer Hale would be decent replacements for them if Futurama comes back for another season.

That said, though, I think the show already had a good conclusion in season 7, so I don't think there's a point in continuing Futurama.

I agree with that, but I remember Johnny 2 Cellos bringing some aspects of Futurama that can still be explored.

---

That's still expensive for even a guy like Groening?

Hulu already released an official tweet, so there's no turning back now.

I kinda hated that almost all of their ending episodes always leave in a bittersweet, cliffhanger-esque ending. I think only the original run and Overclockwise had a more positive finale.

To be fair, Hulu has new season Simpsons. With that said, some regions have Futurama in Disney Plus.

Laughs in British

It would indeed be nice to have a happy ending. As long as I they don’t cop it out and have it be All Just a Dream.

Edited by HoloMew151 on Feb 10th 2022 at 11:34:15 AM

I think the resulting backlash from not using the original voice actors will either force them to actually pay them properly so there's a new series or they'll abandon plans for a new Futurma series and go for entirely different show that looks suspiciously like Futurma but that never makes past a pilot

Edited by Ultimatum on Feb 10th 2022 at 2:43:05 PM

New theme music also a box

So the mere thought of Bender getting recast is so strong that it's gotten Bender trending at like 17.9K tweets as of this typing.

I'm also seeing that DiMaggio himself hasn't really said anything, but has been retweeting others insisting that he stay as Bender.

Observing this from a detached perspective, I think this is one of those things where there's some kind of intimidation game to see who will blink first. I want to say the closest analogy would be when it was announced that Sony and Marvel were severing ties to have Spider-Man in the MCU in 2019, but I can't say for sure if that's the best comparison.

TL;DR: @ Hulu: To quoteth the bot himself: "Well? Pay the man!"

My only guess as to why Futurama isn’t on Disney Plus (least here in the States) is that Disney may consider it to be too risqué to put on their main streaming service.

Though Futurama isn’t that much more risqué than Simpsons.

You know, I have to wonder why Pit is obsessed with this site. It’s gonna ruin his life!