Bender's Game

Bender's Game is the third of the four Direct-to-DVD films, to be released on 4 November, 2008 in the US, November in the EU and 4 December in Australia , the smallest difference between American and the Australian release yet.

For the first time, the Blu-Ray (HD) edition of the films will be released on the same date as the normal DVD, something may also suggest that we will see the release on Blu-Ray for the two first films soon.

As of 8 July, 2007 the voice acting for all the films (which includes the fifth season) is finished, according to Lauren Tom. Guest stars include George Takei and Rich Little as themselves.

Plot summary
A preview of Bender's Game was included with The Beast with a Billion Backs. The film will open mainly with a shortage of Dark Matter, which has resulted mainly in increased prices. Bender reacts in a curiously terrified manner when he sees Cubert and Dwight playing Dungeons & Dragons. After doing some demolition derby action with the Planet Express Ship, Fry, Leela and the Professor enter another confrontation with Mom and her sons in what appears to be over a small glowing object, possibly Dark Matter. The ground opens beneath them and they fall through, ending up in a fantasy realm, though we only see Fry and Leela climbing out of the hole to find they are in a land called Cornwood, with Leela having turned into a centaur. They meet several fantasy versions of their friends: Bender is dressed as a knight, the Professor is a wizard, Amy is Gynecaladriel, queen of the "waternymphos" and Zoidberg appears to be some sort of squid-like blob (he appears as his own head with small tentacles similar to his own tendrils). At some point in the film, Fry and Mom transform into dragons and battle over a large black dodecahedronal object, possibly another chunk of Dark Matter. There will be several Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings references. The teaser image indicates that plans were originally in place for Fry to become a Gollum-like character, though this is uncertain to occur in the film as Fry appears as he normally does for the majority of the preview.

The film will also reveal the secrets of Dark Matter. It may also explain the backstory of the Professor and/or Nibbler.

Characters
Characters that can automatically confirmed, and characters that have been confirmed.
 * Amy Wong / Debut: Gynecaladriel
 * Bender Bending Rodríguez
 * Cubert Farnsworth
 * Dr. John A. Zoidberg
 * Dwight Conrad
 * George Takei's Head
 * Hermes Conrad
 * Mom
 * Nibbler
 * Philip J. Fry
 * Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
 * Rich Little's Head
 * Turanga Leela
 * Walt, Larry and Ignar

Cast

 * Billy West as Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, and Additional Voices
 * Katey Sagal as Turanga Leela
 * John DiMaggio as Bender, Ignar, and Additional Voices
 * Tress MacNeille as Mom, and Additional Voices
 * Maurice LaMarche as Walt, and Additional Voices
 * Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad, Dwight Conrad, and Additional Voices
 * Lauren Tom as Amy Wong/Gynecaladriel, and Additional Voices
 * David Herman as Larry, and Additional Voices
 * Kath Soucie as Cubert Farnsworth, and Additional Voices
 * Frank Welker as Nibbler, Trolls, and Additional Voices
 * Rich Little as Himself
 * George Takei as Himself

Trivia

 * At the time this was being made, E. Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons and a one time guest star of Futurama, had passed away. Although this being made is merely a coincidence.
 * The plot of there being a dark matter shortage, resulting in higher prices, most likely is a parallel to our current oil crisis, with gas prices going over $4 a gallon.

The DVD
The DVD has been reported to include.
 * The film itself
 * Commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz and Dwayne Carey-Hill.
 * Storyboard Animatic: Bender's Game, Part One
 * Futurama Genetics Lab - Cross-breed Your Favorite Characters!
 * Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama feaurette
 * How To Draw "Futurama" In 83 Easy Steps Featurette
 * 3D Models Featurette With Animator Discussion
 * Deleted Scene: "Cup or Nozzle?"
 * Blooperama 2: Outakes From Bender's Game
 * Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning
 * A Sneak Peek at the Next "Futurama" Epic, Into the Wild Green Yonder

For the Blu-Ray version :


 * The contents mentioned above, but with the following technical enhancements;
 * Picture-in-Picture capabilities.
 * Authored in BD-J with AVC (MPEG 4) compression. (For Region A)
 * 50 GB dual-layer disc
 * English 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Master Audio
 * English, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese subtitles.