The 'Futurama' voice actor was the final original cast member to board the series revival, due to him wanting more money. But it turns out that's not actually what he got.
Mutterings of a 'Futurama' revival were put in motion back in 2020, but it wasn't until February this year the series was confirmed to be moving ahead. John DiMaggio, who voices the antihero robot Bender in the series, was the final cast member to board the revival due to him wanting more money for himself and the rest of the main cast.
And it turns out, even though he's confirmed for the new Hulu/Disney+ series, he actually didn't get a pay rise for his return. According to /Film's Ryan Scott, who was in attendance at the comic book convention called 'Phoenix Fan Fusion', DiMaggio alluded to the news from earlier this year.
Speaking as part of a panel, the voice actor said that Hulu/Disney were prepared to move forward without him on board. He said: "People are like, 'I'm so glad you got more money!'
"I didn't get more money. But what I did get was a lot of respect, and a lot of head nods from people who are like, 'Yo bro, I see you and thank you'."
He added he just wanted to get more money out of the House of Mouse: "Trying to get money out of Disney is like trying to get blood from a stone — you ain't gonna get it!
"But listen, this was the best thing about that fight: I had Disney, Hulu, I was holding on to their collective testicles so hard that they couldn't, y'know, there was nowhere for them to go. But there was also nowhere for me to go, and who wants to hold on to those for that long?"
Created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, 'Futurama' originally ran from 1999 to 2003, followed by a short-lived revival from 2008 to 2009, and then again between 2010 and 2013.
The new revival will also see Groening and Cohen return, as well as the voice cast of Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman are all returning.
