Yesterday's news that Futurama is being revived (again) on Hulu was met with joy from fans of Matt Groening's animated sci-fi comedy. However, that joy quickly turned to frustration when it became clear that a major cast member hadn't yet signed on: John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender.

Since then, DiMaggio's absence has sparked a major backlash under the hashtag "#bendergate." Fans contend that the series won't be the same without DiMaggio's Bender, who has delivered many of the show's most memorable lines.

DiMaggio himself is leaning into the backlash. The actor has spent much of the day sharing articles about fans threatening a boycott and re-tweeting accusations that Hulu is "lowballing Bender."

Voice actor James Adomian, who has voiced roles in Rugrats and Bob's Burgers, wrote in support of DiMaggio, "Everyone in the industry saw the audition notice go out two weeks ago for Bender, asking for a voice match for John DiMaggio. Seeing it, I said out loud 'Shove it!' in my best Bender voice, which will always just be a fanboy cosplay of John DiMaggio."

Animation director Kelly Turnbull called Futurama's reported attempt to replace DiMaggio an example of a wider issue with the animation industry.

"I feel like the idea of [John DiMaggio] as a replaceable element of Futurama is part of a wider issue of an industry that doesn’t respect voice actors on the same level as live action actors. You'll see voice actors who MADE a character treated like no live action actor would be," Turnbull tweeted.

Asked why DiMaggio had yet to sign on with Futurama, co-star Billy West, who plays Fry, wrote, "I think he's looking for the right pen."

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

— John DiMaggio (@TheJohnDiMaggio) February 10, 2022

One of the best-known voice actors in the industry, DiMaggio has appeared in games, movies, and shows since the mid-90s, with Bender arguably being his most famous role. He's also a major part of Disenchantment, where he plays King Zøg.

Many of the comments point to a pay dispute between DiMaggio and the Futurama showrunners. More than a few noted the irony of Hulu using an image of Bender to promote the show's return. DiMaggio, for his part, thanked fans for their concern. "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'."

Futurama is currently set to return on Hulu sometime in 2023, and while a return by DiMaggio hasn't been fully ruled out, it's far from certain. But if DiMaggio is unable to reach an agreement with Futurama showrunners, at least some voice actors are urging their compatriots not to take the role.

"Additional VO tip, in light of news today: don't make attempts to slide in on someone else’s spot," voice actor Andrew Kishino tweeted. "That's a wild greasy maneuver. Respect their position, talent & integrity."

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Yesterday's news that Futurama is being revived (again) on Hulu was met with joy from fans of Matt Groening's animated sci-fi comedy. However, that joy quickly turned to frustration when it became clear that a major cast member hadn't yet signed on: John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender.

Since then, DiMaggio's absence has sparked a major backlash under the hashtag "#bendergate." Fans contend that the series won't be the same without DiMaggio's Bender, who has delivered many of the show's most memorable lines.

DiMaggio himself is leaning into the backlash. The actor has spent much of the day sharing articles about fans threatening a boycott and re-tweeting accusations that Hulu is "lowballing Bender."

Voice actor James Adomian, who has voiced roles in Rugrats and Bob's Burgers, wrote in support of DiMaggio, "Everyone in the industry saw the audition notice go out two weeks ago for Bender, asking for a voice match for John DiMaggio. Seeing it, I said out loud 'Shove it!' in my best Bender voice, which will always just be a fanboy cosplay of John DiMaggio."

Animation director Kelly Turnbull called Futurama's reported attempt to replace DiMaggio an example of a wider issue with the animation industry.

"I feel like the idea of [John DiMaggio] as a replaceable element of Futurama is part of a wider issue of an industry that doesn’t respect voice actors on the same level as live action actors. You'll see voice actors who MADE a character treated like no live action actor would be," Turnbull tweeted.

Asked why DiMaggio had yet to sign on with Futurama, co-star Billy West, who plays Fry, wrote, "I think he's looking for the right pen."

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

— John DiMaggio (@TheJohnDiMaggio) February 10, 2022

One of the best-known voice actors in the industry, DiMaggio has appeared in games, movies, and shows since the mid-90s, with Bender arguably being his most famous role. He's also a major part of Disenchantment, where he plays King Zøg.

Many of the comments point to a pay dispute between DiMaggio and the Futurama showrunners. More than a few noted the irony of Hulu using an image of Bender to promote the show's return. DiMaggio, for his part, thanked fans for their concern. "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'."

Futurama is currently set to return on Hulu sometime in 2023, and while a return by DiMaggio hasn't been fully ruled out, it's far from certain. But if DiMaggio is unable to reach an agreement with Futurama showrunners, at least some voice actors are urging their compatriots not to take the role.

"Additional VO tip, in light of news today: don't make attempts to slide in on someone else’s spot," voice actor Andrew Kishino tweeted. "That's a wild greasy maneuver. Respect their position, talent & integrity."

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

FromSoftware says that it's seeking to balance Elden Ring's difficulty, with one particularly frustrating Network Test among the elements being tuned for the final version. But there will still be some difficult bosses, some of which will reportedly rank among the most difficult the series has ever seen.

Speaking with Gamer Braves, Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao covered a variety of topics pertaining the final release, which is due later this month. Among them, he discussed the difficult balance, saying that the Network Test's showcase boss, Margit the Fell Omen, was "just too hard."

Nevertheless, Elden Ring will have a myriad of optional bosses to test the skills of top players, some of which will be very difficult.

"In terms of bosses that are unessential and optional and hidden, there are some of these that we have deliberately increased the challenge for those players who want to seek out this kind of experience. Hopefully if you’re that way inclined, you can seek out some really tough challenges hidden away in the world," Kitao said.

FromSoftware's Souls games have a long history of very difficult optional bosses. They include the likes of Bloodborne's Martyr Logarius, who will test your ability to parry attacks while heavily punishing mistakes. The DLC bosses are even nastier, with expansions like The Old Hunters notably featuring some of the toughest bosses in FromSoftware history.

As Elden Ring is open world and FromSoftware's biggest game to date, there may be more of these secret bosses than ever before. Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently commented that he expects more players to finish Elden Ring than the studio's previous games, perhaps because its biggest challenges are off the beaten path.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kitao addresses issues like the HUD and other changes from the Network Test. It's worth reading in full if you're a big fan of the series.

In our final preview ahead of the game's release on February 25, IGN said Elden Ring "encourages and rewards exploration — and now has much more room for creativity than simply giving you more than one corridor in a castle to check out."

Ryan Dinsdale is a freelancer contributor at IGN

FromSoftware says that it's seeking to balance Elden Ring's difficulty, with one particularly frustrating Network Test among the elements being tuned for the final version. But there will still be some difficult bosses, some of which will reportedly rank among the most difficult the series has ever seen.

Speaking with Gamer Braves, Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao covered a variety of topics pertaining the final release, which is due later this month. Among them, he discussed the difficult balance, saying that the Network Test's showcase boss, Margit the Fell Omen, was "just too hard."

Nevertheless, Elden Ring will have a myriad of optional bosses to test the skills of top players, some of which will be very difficult.

"In terms of bosses that are unessential and optional and hidden, there are some of these that we have deliberately increased the challenge for those players who want to seek out this kind of experience. Hopefully if you’re that way inclined, you can seek out some really tough challenges hidden away in the world," Kitao said.

FromSoftware's Souls games have a long history of very difficult optional bosses. They include the likes of Bloodborne's Martyr Logarius, who will test your ability to parry attacks while heavily punishing mistakes. The DLC bosses are even nastier, with expansions like The Old Hunters notably featuring some of the toughest bosses in FromSoftware history.

As Elden Ring is open world and FromSoftware's biggest game to date, there may be more of these secret bosses than ever before. Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently commented that he expects more players to finish Elden Ring than the studio's previous games, perhaps because its biggest challenges are off the beaten path.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kitao addresses issues like the HUD and other changes from the Network Test. It's worth reading in full if you're a big fan of the series.

In our final preview ahead of the game's release on February 25, IGN said Elden Ring "encourages and rewards exploration — and now has much more room for creativity than simply giving you more than one corridor in a castle to check out."

Ryan Dinsdale is a freelancer contributor at IGN

The Beauty and the Beast Disney Plus prequel series has been delayed. Variety reports the series has been postponed indefinitely due to creative and scheduling issues.

According to the report, the show was supposed to start shooting in Europe this summer, but "certain creative elements" are not ready yet. Rather than delay shooting, which would have caused scheduling issues for the cast, Disney has apparently decided to revisit the project at a later time.

The show was greenlit last summer for an eight episode run. The project was set to be a musical series serving as a prequel to the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast adaptation starring Emma Watson. Josh Gad and Luke Evans were on board to reprise their roles as LeFou and Gaston. The series would follow LeFou, Gaston, and LeFou's stepsister Tilly, a new character played by Briana Middleton.

No new timeline has been set for when filming on the project will get started. For now, Disney Plus subscribers can look forward to the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming this spring.

We were fans of the live-action remake in 2017, saying it was a "lovely film that includes the elements fans of the animated classic would hope to see, while also introducing some new aspects that, by and large, effortlessly fit in with the original story’s framework".

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The Beauty and the Beast Disney Plus prequel series has been delayed. Variety reports the series has been postponed indefinitely due to creative and scheduling issues.

According to the report, the show was supposed to start shooting in Europe this summer, but "certain creative elements" are not ready yet. Rather than delay shooting, which would have caused scheduling issues for the cast, Disney has apparently decided to revisit the project at a later time.

The show was greenlit last summer for an eight episode run. The project was set to be a musical series serving as a prequel to the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast adaptation starring Emma Watson. Josh Gad and Luke Evans were on board to reprise their roles as LeFou and Gaston. The series would follow LeFou, Gaston, and LeFou's stepsister Tilly, a new character played by Briana Middleton.

No new timeline has been set for when filming on the project will get started. For now, Disney Plus subscribers can look forward to the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming this spring.

We were fans of the live-action remake in 2017, saying it was a "lovely film that includes the elements fans of the animated classic would hope to see, while also introducing some new aspects that, by and large, effortlessly fit in with the original story’s framework".

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Following Nintendo's drop of a new Splatoon 3 trailer yesterday as part of Nintendo Direct, news has spread through the community of an apparent release date hidden within the video. However, it appears that said release date is fake.

A now-removed post on the Splatoon subreddit claimed that a QR code can be seen at the 55 second mark in the latest Splatoon 3 trailer. The QR code, which can indeed be spotted in the UI in the top left corner of the screen, is too fuzzy to be scanned, but the Reddit post suggested that enhancing and sharpening the image produces a usable QR code that reveals Splatoon 3's release date. However, the 'enhanced' version of the QR code provided by the user is not identical to the one in the trailer.

Despite initially fooling some fans, visitors to the thread quickly called out the post for offering up a QR code that was not of the same design as that seen in the trailer. It appears that this is a new QR code designed to send excited fans to a fake release date page. The date reads August 18, 2022, which is a Thursday (despite Nintendo games typically being released on Fridays).

Furthermore, the QR code in the new trailer is actually the same as one that was seen in the original announcement trailer. The code can be seen in UI elements at the 22 second mark. As such, it seems as if this 'QR code' is just part of Splatoon 3's art style, rather than an actual Easter egg or hidden message.

For a real release date, you'll just have to wait until Nintendo is ready to announce. We do know that it will be released this year, though.

For more, check out the confirmation that the Salmon Run co-op mode is returning to Splatoon 3, as well as everything else revealed at the latest Nintendo Direct.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Sony is spending its morning providing updates and reveals to seven indie games coming to PS4, PS5 and/or PSVR.

On the PS Blog, Head of PlayStation Indies Shuhei Yoshida introduced the mini-event. This is a developing article, and we'll be adding new details throughout the next few hours, so make sure to check back frequently.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Tribute Games has announced that Master Splinter will be a playable character in its retro beat 'em up. Describing the character as a 'must have' for the game, Tribute's Eric Lafontaine explains that that Splinter is "calm and collected in his movements – but not slow," designed to reflect his passive nature in the TMNT cartoon, but allowing him to take part in the action.

Splinter has a cane that opens up bouncing combos, can bite, and has a ranged flying special attack. He also has a special move based on the opening credits of the 1987 animated series, "in which for a few frames we see Splinter shattering a bunch of wooden boxes with all fours."

The game will arrive on PS4 later this year.

Moss: Book 2

The sequel to the beloved PSVR action puzzler had already been announced, but developer Polyarc announced new details.

Moss: Book 2 will look to build on the sense of outsized scale that the first game brought, putting you in larger areas and including "expansive multi-dimensional puzzles and platforming challenges." That will be facilitated by adding seamless cuts with no load time, meaning you can get around large spaces without motion discomfort.

Areas will also be available to revisit, allowing you to rinse each one for collectibles and secrets at your own pace. Rooms may also change as the game goes on, offering new perspectives that can allow you solve otherwise hidden puzzles.

Animal Well

A pixel-art 2D game with "the sensibilities of a survival horror", Animal Well is a new PS5 game from solo developer Billy Basso. Basso is deliberately vague about the game's contents, but points to have puzzling, platforming, and horror elements, without being any of those game genres in and of itself.

The game appears to revolve around a map that can be travelled across and relearned as you discover new abilities or items. "You explore a surreal interconnected labyrinth that is absolutely loaded with secrets," writes Basso. "It has a map that is not nearly as big as some games, but it aims to be much denser."

Basso estimates the game will take 15-20 hours to complete, but many more to complete 100% – and hints at a third layer of "far more obscure puzzles, whose existence will be unknown to most."

The game doesn't yet have a release date, but should be released by the end of 2022, or early 2023.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Microsoft wants Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard titles to make their way to Nintendo consoles like the Switch.

Putting current Activision Blizzard games on as many systems as possible is a goal Microsoft wants to achieve after its monumental takeover goes through, company president Brad Smith told CNBC.

He said: "One of the things we’re being very clear about as we move forward with the regulatory review of this acquisition is that great titles like Call of Duty from Activision Blizzard today will continue to be available on the Sony PlayStation.

"We'd like to bring it to Nintendo devices. We'd like to bring the other popular titles that Activision Blizzard has and ensure that they continue to be available on PlayStation [and] that they become available on Nintendo."

Call of Duty games have appeared on Nintendo consoles before, but not with huge regularity – the last CoD game to appear on a Nintendo platform was Call of Duty: Ghosts in 2013.

Many have pointed to the company's takeover of Bethesda, and the announcement that one of its most-anticipated games would be Xbox-exclusive, as proof of Microsoft's intent for Activision games. However, Smith cited a different example, saying that after the company bought Mojang in 2014, Minecraft actually extended its reach and became available in even more places.

"What we've done with that acquisition," Smith explained," I think, is a clear indicator of what we hope to do if we acquire Activision Blizzard. Namely, invest even more in innovation, bring it to more people, bring it to more platforms, make it even more useful, and hopefully delightful for the people who use it."

Microsoft's acquisition of Blizzard will reportedly be reviewed by the US Federal Trade Commission as it considers taking a more aggressive stance on Big Tech mergers, but CEO Satya Nadella doesn't seem to believe the review will find issues.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently tweeted that he intends to honour all existing agreements between Activision and Sony. Yesterday, Microsoft went further, saying it had made a commitment that Activision Blizzard games would continue to head to PlayStation "beyond existing agreements".

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard - the company behind Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and more - shook the gaming industry. PlayStation followed shortly afterwards by purchasing Destiny developer Bungie. Nintendo will walk its own path, as always, recently commenting that it isn't interested in acquiring other companies.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Showtime boss Gary Levine has referred to the live-action Halo series as an "outlier" for their network, affirming that the show is a much better fit for Paramount Plus.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Levine addressed a decision that was made last year to move the Halo TV series from Showtime to Paramount+ as he shed new light on the reason behind the change of direction. He indicated that Halo was a deviation from Showtime's programming roster but suited the "blockbuster mentality" of Paramount Plus.

"Halo was always a little bit of an outlier for us, in all honesty," Levine admitted, suggesting that it didn't impact the network's larger plans. "We've been working on it for a number of years. There were times where we said, 'How do we make a first-person shooter video game into a Showtime series?' We worked hard to make it a real, character-based and interesting drama. It is filled with action, and I understand how it was an outlier for Showtime, and I understand why it's in the sweet spot for Paramount+.

"Conversely, The Man Who Fell to Earth [which moved from Paramount+ to Showtime] is a creatively ambitious adaptation of the iconic film," he added. "There wasn't any big change in our programming strategy. Halo was a bit of an aberration and will do great business for Paramount+ and we're producing it. I love the show and hope it'll be a huge hit. As Halo emerged, it felt like Paramount+ could promote it bigger and better, and it seems to be more in their blockbuster mentality than us."

Halo has been in development for film and television one way or another for many years now, with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp among those involved in trying to get it off the ground. It was finally announced in 2018, and fans were given a glimpse of the TV adaptation at last year's Game Awards, where we saw Pablo Schreiber's Master Chief in action for the first time.

The long-awaited Halo TV series will premiere on Paramount+ on March 24, with Pablo Schreiber starring as Master Chief alongside Danny Sapani and Olive Gray who will play Jacob and Miranda Keyes, respectively. Jen Taylor, the voice of Cortana in the Halo games, is reprising her role as the AI on the show. You can check out the full cast list here.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.