Posted in: Games | Tagged: futurama, HRL

2017 Games Countdown #1: Futurama Returns as a Video Game So Nobody Can Cancel It Again

Published Sat, 30 Dec 2017 14:05:14 -0600

We don't often write news for the games section, so we didn't even realize until the last minute that we had the number one Games article of the year. Jude Terror, Bleeding Cool's number one Video Games writer of 2017? It has a nice ring to it, we have to admit.

Futurama is one of several properties whose fans are unable to let go of. The tragically canceled Firefly has its hardcore fans, the Firebronies, who have tried futilely to bring back that show for over a decade. Young Justice has the Justicebronies, who recently succeeded in getting that show to return for a third season. But no group of hardcore fans has had as much success reviving their favorite show than the Futurebronies, who have gotten the show to return on multiple occasions.

Of course, that just means they have to suffer the heartbreak of its cancellation over and over again.

Original headline: Futurama Is Back, And This Time (Hopefully) No One Can Cancel It Because It's A Video Game

Beloved animated series Futurama has long been cursed with a bad case of the cancellations. Originally airing on Fox in 1999, Futurama saw its first cancellation in 2003. In 2005, Comedy Central began negotiations to take over the show, with plans to make new episodes, but those plans were canceled, and the network produced four straight-to-DVD films in 2007 instead, though those were also released as sixteen individual episodes. The show was renewed again in 2009, but Comedy Central attempted to cancel the entire voice acting cast. Fan backlash thwarted those plans, and the show went on until 2013, when it was once again canceled. To date, Futurama has released four "series finale" episodes.

At the time, creator Matt Groening defiantly announced plans to produce more episodes as a puppet show, but those plans were also apparently canceled. Just last week, the Futurama comic book published by Bongo was canceled, or at least its print edition was, with Bongo announcing that future issues would be published digitally.

It's been a dark time for fans since Futurama went off the air — all of those times — but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Futurama is coming back, with all new stories, with Groening, original executive producer David X. Cohen, and "much of the original cast," according to a press release. And this time, there's no network to cruelly cancel the series despite its enduring popularity, because this time, Futurama is a video game called Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow.

"I love this game because it feels just like Futurama," said Matt Groening of Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow. "Except now you get to jab the characters in the face."

"Futurama is back, bigger and better than ever! Or possibly smaller and equally good. But either way, it's back!" said Cohen. "We've got completely new stories from the original writers, cast, and animators. This is the real Futurama deal.

Produced by Fox Interactive and Groening's Curiosity Company in partnership with TinyCo, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow will be released on mobile devices through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore. More information will be released about the game in the near future, but you can pre-register at www.youwillplayfuturama.com or follow the game on www.fb.com/playfuturama and www.twitter.com/playfuturama.

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