Credit: Unsplash

DiMaggio will reprise his role as Bender the robot.

Last month, Hulu announced that they had acquired the rights to the cult-classic animated series Futurama, and would be creating an entirely new season of the show with most of the original cast returning. However, fans noticed an alarming absence from the cast list: John DiMaggio, voice of the show’s most iconic character, Bender the robot. As it turned out, DiMaggio had originally abstained from the revival due to payment concerns, both for himself and for the rest of the cast, which lead to a large Twitter movement in his support named “Bendergate.”

Thankfully, it seems DiMaggio and the network have come to a consensus, as this week he confirmed that he will be reprising his role as Bender.

“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. “#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!”

“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. #Bendergate is officially over." – @TheJohnDiMaggio pic.twitter.com/PS95kHJ1pa

— IGN (@IGN) March 1, 2022

Members of the production staff were happy an agreement could be reached, and excited to be working with DiMaggio and the cast again. “From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had our Bender,” series creator Matt Groening said. “So congrats to everyone at ‘Futurama.’ We’re all back, baby!”

“John DiMaggio may be a great robot, but he’s also a great human being,” executive producer David X. Cohen added. “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!”