Futurama Creator Addresses Major Fan Theory About Robot Devil

Back in 1999, during the Futurama season 1 episode “Hell is Other Robots,” audiences met Beelzebot, who is better known as the Robot Devil. Voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the musically inclined character presides over robot Hell. Unlike human Hell, robot Hell is housed below a dilapidated amusement park in New Jersey.

Since that first appearance, the Robot Devil has become a recurring villain throughout the show’s revivals. He even starred in one of the series finales, season 4’s “The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings.”

Despite his multiple appearances, the Robot Devil remains the source of questions in the Futurama fandom. The biggest query is who built him. As the Futurama wiki The Infosphere explains, the exact time and reason for his creation remain unknown. He was likely built before or around 2275, when the Fairness in Hell Act was signed into law. The Fairness in Hell Act states that robots can be rescued from Hell if one of their friends can best the Robot Devil in a fiddling competition. The origins of the Robot Devil have also been discussed in depth on the Futurama subreddit. Fans have theorized that robot soap opera actor Calculon built him, or that he was built by business tycoon Mom, who manufactured most of Earth’s robot population.

Recently, Futurama co-developer and showrunner David X. Cohen sat down with Polygon to discuss the current season of the series, and he addressed the Robot Devil’s mysterious origins.

Who built the Robot Devil?

“We have this debate in the writers’ room a lot, like, why did they build a robot whose purpose seems to be to murder people?” said Cohen. “Like Roberto, the stabbing robot — whose idea was that?”

Pondering the question further, Cohen stated, “We’ve done a little bit of robot evolution in the history of the show as well, and I think it’s possible that some robots broke free of the confines of their programming and became criminals, devils, or whatever they chose to be.”

This explanation means the Robot Devil could have started as a regular robot off the assembly line before defying his programming to become the Robot Devil on his own. While the answer remains inconclusive, Cohen noted that he had never been asked the question before and seemed intrigued by the premise. Perhaps in a future Futurama revival, fans will finally learn the truth.

Futurama is streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.

Source: Polygon