Hulu’s upcoming Futurama revival hit a speedbump earlier this year when John DiMaggio didn’t immediately commit to reprising his role as Bender, the foul-mouthed robot who instantly became the series’ breakout character when it originally premiered in 1999. DiMaggio later clarified that his hesitancy stemmed from a salary dispute with the show’s producers. Fans breathed a sigh of relief when he closed a deal to return a few weeks later. Unfortunately, it sounds like DiMaggio didn’t get the pay raise he was hoping for.
Via /Film, DiMaggio discussed the controversy while appearing at Phoenix Fan Fusion over the weekend. And while most fans assumed that his return for the series meant that Hulu agreed to his terms, he confirmed that this wasn’t the case at all.
“People are like, ‘I’m so glad you got more money!'” said DiMaggio. “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.’”
RELATED: John DiMaggio is Officially Returning For Hulu’s Futurama Revival
He also revealed what the show would have done if he decided not to come back for the revival. Hulu reportedly considered having a different guest-star voice Bender in each of the 20 new episodes. This revelation elicited several groans from the panel’s audience. But DiMaggio confessed that it was “quite rewarding” to get the respect he was after.
“Trying to get money out of Disney is like trying to get blood from a stone — you ain’t gonna get it!” added DiMaggio. “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?”
Futurama will return on Hulu in 2023.
Are you sad to hear that DiMaggio didn’t get a raise for the new episodes? Let us know in the comments down below!
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