Co-showrunner David X.Cohen has confirmed an excitingFuturamacameo for the season premiere atSan Diego Comic-Con. After originally debuting on FOX in 1999,Futuramaran for four seasons. It then had four straight-to-DVD movie releases before being revived by Comedy Central. Following a 10-year hiatus, the sci-fi animated series returned on Hulu in 2023.Futuramaseason 13is set to debut on September 15.
At SDCC, whereScreenRantwas in attendance,Cohen confirmed that number one NBA Draft pick Victor Wembanyama will cameo in the season 13 premiere. Wembanyama was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in 2023. Before the draft, the French player generated more buzz than anyone since Zion Williamson. Wembanyama was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder in February 2025, but will return for the upcoming NBA season.
What This Means For Futurama
The Casting Follows A Series Tradition
Futuramahas long featured basketball as a significant part of its canon. First appearing in season 3, episode 14, “Time Keeps on Slippin',” theGlobetrotters have been recurringFuturamacharacterssince 2001. A parody of the real-life Harlem Globetrotters, it calls back to episodes of Hanna-Barbera’sScooby-Dooseries, where the team would occasionally appear.
While the Harlem Globetrotters are still actively playing games, the exhibition basketball team does not have the same marquee value it had in the 1970s and ’80s. While their return inFuturamais always welcome, a cameo from Wembanyama is an exciting basketball player to get on the show.
Our Take On Wembanyama Making A Cameo
The Alien Nickname Means His Cameo Could Take Different Forms
Since the debut ofFuturama, the series has had plenty of famous guest stars. The majority of these have been relegated to being a head inside a jar, a technology that exists to prolong life and make cameos possible. However,Wembanyama could have a different style of cameo.
Wembanyama’s height is listed at 7′ 3″ with a 7′ 10″ wingspan. Before he left the 2024-25 season with a blood clot, he was heavily favored for Defensive Player of the Year as he averaged an absurd 3.8 blocks per game and led the league in total blocks with 176 after only playing 46 games. With his height and skill, he haspicked up the nicknames “Alien” and “Extraterrestrial.”
With those in mind, Wembanyama may be more than just a head in a jar. As the Globetrotters appeared as actual players, Wembanyama may as well. With his interstellar nicknames,Futuramamay lean into those and reveal Wembanyama as an actual alien.
Futurama
Cast
Futurama is an animated science fiction series that follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from late-20th-century New York City. He is accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years and becomes an employee at Planet Express, a delivery service in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
