Futurama creators on new episodes: 'Keep your expectations modest'

By its very definition, Futurama was ahead of its time, and then ahead of its time once again when it returned in 2007, and then again in 2010. Now, in 2017, the series is a whole beautiful, anachronistic mess that’s still far ahead of the satirical tech curve, and it seems destined to stay that way until the next time we see the Planet Express cast back in society-skewering action.

As it turns out, that day is upon us, sort of. The cast and creators of the beloved sitcom (producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and voice actors Billy West and John DiMaggio) participated in that great masochistic act of self-journalism — a Reddit AMA — to promote their new mobile app, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow. As is often the case with these scenarios, it took literal seconds for one Reddit user to ask the Necessary Obvious Question: Could we see more Futurama episodes or movie specials once again?

Producer David X. Cohen replied candidly: “There are no new TV episodes or movies in the pipeline at the moment… HOWEVER, here and now I promise a different avenue of exciting Futurama news later this summer, no kidding. Keep your expectations modest and you will be pleased, possibly. I am not allowed to say more or I will be lightly phasered.”

Now, consider why the guys are doing the AMA anyway: The show’s new game just launched on Wednesday, and it features brand new scenes, jokes, and stories from the original Futurama cast, animators, writers. If the game follows in the footsteps of its TinyCo predecessor Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff (or its far superior competitor, The Simpsons Tapped Out), it’s a fair guess to apply Cohen’s tease to more content coming down the pike in future updates of the app. “Keep your expectations modest” is a fairly good way to describe a new 90-second scene every two months, after all.

On the other hand, perhaps that’s not the case for the show that’s always managed to stick around at various points in its afterlife. Futurama has always been a staple of Internet culture and its crew members have remained vocal about the perennial desire to produce more; the show surprised fans, for instance, with a crossover episode on The Simpsons in 2014, and recent fan outrage at the show’s removal from Netflix could have even galvanized Groening and Cohen to whip something special into production.

Either way, fans of Futurama would be wise to get their cryogenic kicks from the new app and read through the whole AMA for some delightful scoop from Groening, Cohen, West, and DiMaggio. Breaking: Mom’s full name is Carol Miller!?!?