John DiMaggio Will Return as Bender in ‘Futurama’ Revival—#Bendergate Is Over!

Sound the alarm! John DiMaggio is slated to return for Hulu’s Futurama revival, after some negotiation.

“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,” DiMaggio said in a statement (via Variety). “#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!”

Futurama is the story of 25-year-old pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry (Billy West) who accidentally freezes himself in 1999 and wakes up 1,000 years later. He finds his distant relative, Professor Farnsworth, and ends up joining the crew of the Planet Express, working alongside the one-eyed mutant (spoiler, I guess) Leela (Katey Sagal) and robot Bender.

For awhile, it was unknown whether DiMaggio would return to the revival, and he has spoken openly about the situation being about “self-respect” and making sure he (and his colleges) would be paid what they were owed due to their experience and legacy.

Both series creator Matt Groening and executive producer David X. Cohen shared their own celebration of this big news. “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had our Bender,” Groening said. “So congrats to everyone at ‘Futurama.’ We’re all back, baby!”

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!”

Hulu has arranged for 20 episodes of the new iteration of Futurama, which will allow the continued adventures of the Planet Express. In addition to DiMaggio, original cast members Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman will return.

Futurama continues to be a series that just won’t die, and I look forward to seeing what this new incarnation will do.

(via CNN, image: Fox)