Deadline has learned that the entire cast of Futurama will now be returning to voice their respective roles in the upcoming Hulu revival, as former holdout John DiMaggio has officially closed a deal to reprise his role as the fan-favorite robot Bender and his myriad of supporting characters.
“I’M BACK, BABY! So damn grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike during this whole time (especially my wife, Kate), and I cannot wait to get back to work with my Futurama family. #Bendergate is officially over, so put it on the back of a shelf behind Xmas decorations, or maybe in that kitchen drawer with all of the other crap you put in there like old unusable crazy glue, or maybe even put it in a jar you save farts in. Whatever floats your boat, I don’t care, you get the picture. I’M BACK, BABY! BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS!,” said DiMaggio in an official statement provided to the trade.
This is certainly welcome news for fans of the animated series, which announced plans for a renewal run of twenty episodes early last month. However, a dark cloud had been hovering over the news ever since it was reported that Bender could be recast, resulting in a fervent online campaign, dubbed #Bendergate, demanding the streaming service come to terms with DiMaggio to bring him back to his most iconic role to date.
Matt Groening also expressed his excitement: “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had our Bender. So congrats to everyone at Futurama. We’re all back, baby!,” while co-creator 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. For the fourth time, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to be back with our entire original cast and the phenomenal animators of Rough Draft Studios!”
DiMaggio now joins fellow returning original cast members Billy West (Philip J. Fry; Professor Farnsworth; Doctor Zoidberg; Zapp Brannigan), Katey Sagal (Turanga Leela), Tress MacNeille (Mom), Maurice LaMarche (Kif Kroker), Lauren Tom (Amy Wong), Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad), and David Herman (Scruffy).