While Futurama fans were all over social media at the announcement the show is being rebooted by Hulu, the show will be missing one integral part of its cast in John DiMaggio, who will currently not be returning to voice the character of Bender in the Matt Groening-created series. It was confirmed that the series would be making a return after nine years, but fans had something to say about the voice of Bender being missing from the cast list, and now the actor has spoken out about the situation.Bender Bending Rodriquez is one of the central characters in Futurama, a profane robot who chain-smokes, drinks, hates humans, and more often than not ends up on the wrong side of the law who was always destined to become a fan-favorite character. DiMaggio voiced the character from the first episode in 1999 until the show was canceled (for a second time) in 2013, so it shocked many when the actor was revealed as an absentee from the new Hulu reboot. To clarify matters, DiMaggio took to his Twitter account to speak out directly about fan disgruntlement.In the tweet, DiMaggio said, “Thanks for the concern and the props, everyone. I really appreciate it. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted, but until then…CHEESE IT! #bendergate”While Hulu confirmed that Billy West and Katey Sagal would be reprising their roles as Fry and Leela, it seems that the platform had been unable to reach an agreement with Di Maggio, who felt he was not being offered a competitive pay rate, and are therefore looking for a new voice for Bender in the revival. The decision is one that could yet be resolved between the two parties, especially with the actor’s recent tweet mentioning that he will keep fans posted.

John DiMaggio Has Gained a Lot of Support From Fans and Stars Who Want Him Back as Bender

It is one thing for fans to want the long-term voice of Bender to return to Futurama, rather than someone attempting to be Bender, but John DiMaggio has also garnered support from a number of other actors, including Tara Strong, who as well as being known as the voice of the animated Harley Quinn recently lent her vocals to Miss Minutes in Loki. In a tweet, Strong wrote, “Bad movie #Futurama. [John DiMaggio] is hugely responsible for the success of the show. Voice actors, loved by fan r treated insanely unfair by #Hollywood. They love making us feel replaceable and get away with paying a fraction of what on camera celebs make. Time to close the gap.”

In a time when pay gaps across Hollywood are prominent in the news for many reasons such as gender, age and race, recognition for voice actors is just another issue that demands attention. Whether the dispute with DiMaggio will be resolved by Hulu in time for him to be a part of the revival of Futurama is something that we can only wait and see. If a compromise cannot be reached, there are going to be some fans who just can’t handle a different actor taking over the role after so many years.