He’s back, baby!
After a 10-year hiatus, Matt Groening’s hit space opera finally returns on Hulu, but why was it such a challenge to bring the voice of Bender back?
Futurama follows the hopeless antics of Fry, a pizza delivery boy who gets himself cryogenically frozen in 1999, only to wake up in the fourth millennium. He quickly seeks out Professor Farnsworth, who turns out to be his great grandson 31 times removed, and joins the Planet Express delivery company along with Mexican-built robot Bender, who eventually becomes his best and least reliable friend.
Bender Bending Rodríguez is the alcohol-fueled, pathological liar with zero empathy and a talent for always looking out for number one – and Futurama fans love him. He is, of course, voiced by the incomparable John DiMaggio, a versatile actor who has also provided the voices of Jake the Dog in Adventure Time and Marcus Phoenix in the Gears of War games, among many other roles.
But the reboot almost went ahead without him. DiMaggio initially refused the salary he was offered and entered tense discussions. For a while, there were fears that the role could be recast, with many online even planning a boycott if such a change came to pass.
Explaining the reasoning behind his move, DiMaggio told Variety: “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, being tired of an industry that’s become far too corporate and takes advantage of artists’ time and talent.”
Ultimately, DiMaggio relented and joined the project without the salary rise he was looking for, but the experience was still valuable. “I didn’t get more money… But what I did get was a lot of respect, and a lot of head nods from people.”
Either way, the show has retained about 75 percent of the original writing staff, and has been well-received by die-hard backers of the show.