Futurama teaser poster surfaces

Has anyone seen this before? I came across it linked to from a message board, stashed away in somebody's Photobucket account...which means I wasn't actually able to trace its origin. But it certainly looks official to me..."read more" to see it.

Futurama film teaser poster

Hmmm. A bit of oddness in the coloring, but that could be down to a very poor scan…it looks official to me…

…and it looks like a confirmation of the entire principal cast returning. (Phil LaMarr was the only one I’ve not seen specifically confirmed—well, and Tom Kenney, if you count him—but Hermes is there in the flier so it looks like a full cast reunion after all.)

But does anything about this poster catch your eye? Two things struck me at once.

1) The Bongo logo. Bongo, I thought, just handled the comics end of Futurama and The Simpsons. Which might lead people to think that this is a flier for the comics that just happens to mention a feature film on the way. But then why is it headed FUTURAMA RETURNS? The comics haven’t been on hiatus…only the television show has. Also, there is a copyright notice for the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation at the bottom. Hmm. Perhaps Groening himself put up some of the distribution funds through Bongo?

2) THE ELDERLY ZOIDBERG AAHHH!!!

Is it out of line to consider that this might be a plot detail? After all, it could potentially jibe with what we’ve already heard: a) the missing time between season four and these films will be accounted for within the film itself and b) the film takes several years after the series ended.

Well…the team being placed in suspended animation—for whatever unknown reason—would explain both of those things. So why wasn’t Zoidberg frozen with them? Was it something as simple as the fact that he couldn’t afford it? Did they forget him? Did they leave him intentionally behind so that he could unfreeze them after a short period but accidentally left them in for 50 years? Is nobody else creeped out by a lobster man with facial hair?

Of course there’s a chance that none of what we see on the poster factors into the film at all…but with the voice-work on all four installments done and a good deal of the animation squared away—not to mention a quickly-approaching release date in December—there’s bound to be a few leaking details…

…so unless this poster is a visual reference to something I can’t place, I’d say it’s not totally unsafe to assume it contains a hint or two about the film we’re all waiting for.

About this entry

By Phil Reed
Posted on Sunday, July 22 2007 @ 9:08 pm
Categorised in Film
17 comments

Comments

I'd say if this probably has very little connection to the actual movie - it doesn't even have the name on it.

By Michael Lacey
July 22, 2007 @ 11:30 pm

Very good point. But, in all fairness, the team might consider Bender's Big Score to be a working title. On The Simpsons, at least, titles are published some time before the season begins and it's not uncommon that they are changed before the actual airdate. (And, I think, at least once, after the original airdate.)

That said, you could be exactly right...it could have nothing to do with the film. But what an odd decision, then to make Zoidberg so old-looking. If it's not a hint to a plot detail, then it must--MUST--be a visual reference to something else that I'm not picking up on...

By Philip J Reed, VSc
July 23, 2007 @ 1:39 am

Do either of you read the Futurama comics? There might be something about it in them.

By Michael Lacey
July 23, 2007 @ 2:10 am

Either of...me?

By Philip J Reed, VSc
July 23, 2007 @ 5:16 am

Sorry, I was replying to my own post and yours, having forgotten that I typed it moments earlier. Ahem.

By Michael Lacey
July 23, 2007 @ 6:29 am

Some interesting details have been made known by a very reliable source. (He's so reliable, in fact, that he co-created the show...!)

The first film, Bender's Big Score, will be released on DVD on November 27! That's a full month sooner than the previous release date, which means production must be going incredibly smoothly this time around.

It will feature appearances by Al Gore (as himself), Coolio (as Kwanzaa-bot), Sarah Silverman (presumably as Fry's ex-girlfriend Michelle) and Tom Kenny, who I honestly didn't think would be involved this time around. (Special features include a 22-minute episode of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad.)

The second film, The Beast With a Billion Backs, will be released sometime in 2008, and it will feature guest-stars Brittany Murphy (meee-ow!), David Cross (meeeeeeee-yow!) and Stephen Hawking (instaboner!).

I think we're going to be in a for a real treat the way these films seem to be picking up various plot-threads left behind in the original episodes. In addition to the characters listed above that will be returning we also know that Fry's dog Seymour will play an important part, as will Nibbler, and it's been suggested that we'll be seeing more of God (or whatever he might have been) from Godfellas.

A real respect for the original run of episodes seems to be at the core of these productions, and that can only be a good thing. Odd, though, that Santabot is resurfacing but John Goodman isn't credited. Not that I really care too much...John DiMaggio did a flawless read for the character in the second Xmas episode and I assume he'll be doing the same this time around. Still odd, though. I wonder if Goodman passed it up, or if he just wasn't asked.

By Philip J Reed, VSc
August 05, 2007 @ 6:36 pm

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hEtZHOj4vHo

Well, colour me aroused.

By Jonathan Capps
August 07, 2007 @ 12:53 am

Ohhhhh wow, thanks Capps! I wonder if that's an actual clip from the film, or just some special promo.

I hear the Comic-Con guests got a look at about 5 minutes of footage from the new film...I hope that'll surface.

By Philip J Reed, VSc
August 07, 2007 @ 12:37 pm

I suspect that it's a clip from the film, rather than a special promo. After all, they did say they were going to tackle the cancellation head on in the film...

By John Hoare
August 07, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

It's such a shame there's so much bloody whooping and cheering going on, so most of the dialog is drowned out. You'd think they'd be thrown in a deathly reference based silence.

By Jonathan Capps
August 07, 2007 @ 2:11 pm

I just watched Jurassic Bark and cried like a fat baby.

By Michael Lacey
August 10, 2007 @ 1:20 am

It's that Connie Francis song - it slays me. As soon as I know it's about to start I CAN'T STOP WEEPING

By Michael Lacey
August 10, 2007 @ 1:24 am

Season 4 is generally very emotional, for me. The end of the episode where Leela first find her parents and you see them secretly looking after her her entire life is SWEET TEARY JOY.

By Jonathan Capps
August 10, 2007 @ 1:21 pm

The "poster" above has been revealed. Here's what it is:

The cover of a short, exclusive Futurama comic that was handed out at the most recent ComiCon, the very same event at which Cappsy's clip was recorded.

The voice cast was there for a Q+A and while there they performed the comic book live. Which must have been fantastic. Hopefully that'll be included on the DVD...maybe not likely, but it'd sure be nice...

The cover of the comic must have been leaked before ComiCon and people assumed it was a poster or flyer.

By Philip J Reed, VSc
August 10, 2007 @ 2:01 pm

By Miguel Sanchez
August 22, 2007 @ 12:20 am

Chanukah Zombie is played by mark hammil. haha

By Mort
August 24, 2007 @ 9:37 pm

A much better, longer version of the trailer Cappsy linked to previously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYtLJsUOAk

I want, want, want, want, want, want, want.

By Miguel Sanchez
October 07, 2007 @ 11:55 pm