After a salary dispute that reportedly had Hulu searching for a soundalike, a triumphant John DiMaggio tweeted he’ll be returning to voice the hard-drinking, foul-mouthed robot Bender in new Futurama episodes bound for Hulu.
“I’m back baby!” he tweeted Tuesday evening, quoting his shiny metal alter-ego.
DiMaggio’s message was met with a flood of Bender gifs and other positive thoughts from fans.
Two weeks ago, the veteran character actor explained why he wasn’t signed onto the project at that point; his Futurama co-stars Katey Segal, Phil LaMarr, Billy West and others had previously committed.
At the time, DiMaggio, who also voiced Jake the dog on the beloved Emmy-winning animated series Adventure Time, explained the situation.
“Bender is part of my soul & nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family,” the actor noted in part, adding, “it’s about self-respect.”
“I don’t think only I deserve to be paid more. I think the entire cast does,” John wrote, explaining he’s “tired of an industry that’s become far too corporate and takes advantage of artists’ time & talent.”
Evidently, show creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen were pulling for DiMaggio to return to the fold.
Hulu announced early in February that 20 new episodes of the Emmy-winning series would be created for the streaming service.
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