A few months ago we were caught by surprise by the news that ‘Futurama’ would return in 2023 with new chapters. In the midst of discussions about whether or not the series should continue, the controversy over which John DiMaggio I wouldn’t fold again bender surpassed all the others.
In the end, the negotiations seemed to have come to fruition and we will finally hear the legendary voice actor again as the most grumpy robot in the series… but recently DiMaggio has talked about the production of the new ‘Futurama’ and how he has not ended up earning what many expected.
Some thorny negotiations, but no salary increase
DiMaggio has attended the Phoenix Fan Fusion event this weekend and has dropped several bombshells about the new season of ‘Futurama’. The actor has made reference to the negotiations for his return to the series and how many fans assumed that he had been offered a better salary to finish convincing him, but the situation in the end has been very different.
“People were telling me…I’m so glad they’re giving you more money!” DiMaggio said. “But they haven’t given me any more money. What I’ve gotten has been a lot of respect, and recognition from people who were like… Man, I see what you’ve done and I appreciate it.”
The actor has not given many more details about how they convinced him then since Hulu to return to the series, but has also revealed that the network had a contingency plan in case he did not return. According to DiMaggio, the producers of the series planned to have several guest stars to replace him, with Bender’s voice changing in each chapter depending on the circumstances and the actor who played.
Although we don’t know how the negotiations went, DiMaggio also said that they were very tough and that the most rewarding thing is being the respect of his colleagues.
“Trying to get money out of Disney is like trying to get blood out of a stone, you’re not going to get it,” the actor said. “But look, the best thing about this battle is that I had Disney and Hulu… I was grabbing them so hard by their collective testicles that they had nowhere to go. But I had nowhere to go either, and who wants to hold on to that so badly?” weather.”
John DiMaggio will return as Bender in the new chapters of ‘Futurama’ along with the rest of the cast consisting of Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman. The creator of the series Matt Groening also celebrated his return, saying “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had our bender. So congratulations to everyone on ‘Futurama,’ we’re all back!”
