Coolio's final acting role will be heard in the upcoming Futurama revival. Currently in the works at Hulu, the revival series will be bringing back all of its main cast members from the original, despite a bump in the negotiations process with Bender voice actor John DiMaggio. But there will be other guest stars from previous seasons of Futurama that also return to reprise their voice roles, and among them is late rapper and actor Coolio.
More than two decades ago, Coolio provided the voice of the holiday-themed robot character KwanzaaBot in the 2001 episode "A Tale of Two Santas." He reprised the role in 2007 for the straight-to-DVD film Bender's Big Score and again in 2010 for "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular." Per Entertainment Weekly, it has been confirmed that Coolio was brought back to voice KwanzaaBot in the Hulu revival and he'd recorded his dialogue and music for the character before his recent passing. Coolio's episode will also include a special tribute for the "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper.
"All of us at Futurama send our sincere condolences to Coolio's family, friends, and fans. He was one of our favorite guests, always upbeat and enthusiastic," series producer David X. Cohen said. "This news was especially shocking since he looked and sounded great when we saw him in the studio just a few weeks ago, for what was an especially fun session. I thanked him for returning to do the part once again, and he said, 'Everybody loves KwanzaaBot.' It was an honor to have gotten the chance to work with him."
Coolio's Final Acting Performance Will Be in the Futurama Revival
The Hulu revival of Futurama is coming to the streamer sometime in 2023 when Coolio's episode is expected to debut. It was revealed in February that the revival series is officially moving forward given the continued popularity and value of the sci-fi animated series.
"When presented with the opportunity to bring fans and viewers new episodes of Futurama, we couldn't wait to dive in," Craig Erwich, president of originals at Hulu and ABC Entertainment, said when the revival was announced. "This iconic series helped blaze the trail for the success of adult animation since its initial launch, and we look forward to Matt & David continuing to pave the way and further establishing Hulu as the premiere destination for fans of the genre."
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening created Futurama as well, resulting in a similar animation style. The series originally premiered on Fox in 1999 and has seven previous seasons. It features the voices of Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, David Herman, and Frank Welker.