Futurama Goes Live-Action in Occasionally Unnerving AI Fan Art

The Simpsons have been the subject of many pieces of AI fan art that imagines the Springfield family as “real” people. Now it is the turn of another Matt Groening animation to get the live-action treatment as the characters of Futurama become a collection of rather freaky looking “real-world” residents.

While there are currently no plans for a live-action version of Futurama, there is no telling what the future could hold in that respect. In the meantime, the collection of images shared by Instagram user superawesomeme gives everyone an idea of what could await them if such a thing should happen. While there are some characters who come out well as live-action iterations, there are others that perhaps suggest the show is best left in the realms of animation. You can check out the gallery in the below post.

Futurama has recently returned to screens after a hiatus, with season 11 proving that there is still a huge following for the series out there even a decade after season 10 came to an end. The Hulu revival brought back many of the original stars of the series, including Billy West, who provides the voices for multiple characters including Fry and Professor Farnsworth.

Related: Futurama: How Hulu’s Revival Is Leaning Into Continuity

Futurama Almost Lost One Of Its Biggest Stars Due To A Pay Dispute

With a lot of emphasis currently being put on the pay of writers and actors in Hollywood, the subject was already causing ripples long before strike action had been thrown into the mix. When Futurama’s return was originally confirmed, one actor that seemed to be not returning was John DiMaggio, known to fans as the voice of robot Bender.

DiMaggio was in dispute over the pay being offered to him to return to the series, and it seemed that he was in no hurry to return to the franchise without making a stand against the treatment of voice actors in relation to the pay they receive compared to on-screen actors. It was eventually announced that DiMaggio had agreed to return to the series, but the actor revealed during a 2022 fan event that he did not secure any additional money for his trouble. However, he achieved “respect” from many of his peers, and subsequently said that he ultimately did not want to be the reason the revival failed. He said:

“I didn’t want, nor did my agent want, me standing outside of a house that I should have been having Thanksgiving dinner in. It was just like, OK, I gotta say yes, because I don’t want the demise of the show on my shoulders.’ They were ready to bring in other people. It was what it was.”

Futurama made its triumphant return to screens in July, and can be found on Hulu, with new episodes released every Monday.