Futurama Teases How It Shares a World With Another Series

Futurama's latest time-travel storyline cements the theory that it shares a universe with Disenchantment in a surprising but effective way.


Futurama has played with the apocalypse on multiple occasions. Thanks to its distant future setting, the show has hinted at multiple ways humanity could collapse and rebuild itself. The latest hint at this cyclical existence goes a step further and quietly cements another show as part of Futurama's lore.


"I Know What You Did Next XMas" -- Written by Ariel Ladensohn and Directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson -- features a clever reference to one of Matt Groening's other animated properties, Netflix's Disenchantment. Notably, this direct reference suggests that the fantasy comedy is actually set in the distant future of Futurama's world. On top of seemingly confirming the shared universe between the two shows, it follows up a reoccurring element of Futurama's timeline.


How Prof. Farnsworth Discovers a Futurama/Disenchantment Connection


"I Know What You Did Next XMas" focuses largely on the Planet Express Crew and their efforts to finally counter the villainous Robot Santa. The villainous figure has been a part of the show since Season 2, a homicidal take on the classic Christmas icon. Hoping to undo the programming error that resulted in Robot Santa targeting the entire universe for being "naughty," Prof. Farnsworth busts out the time machine that was introduced in Season 6's "The Late Phillip J. Fry" (Directed by Peter Avanzino and Written by Lewis Morton). Using the device, Farnsworth travels back in time to the early years of Robot Santa, and attempts to change its settings -- inadvertently turning it evil in the first place. However, his attempt to return to the present -- i.e., the year 3023 -- results in him going too far. This leads Farnsworth to repeat the process he went through in the Season 6 episode, which revealed that the universe of Futurama is cyclical in nature, with the Big Crunch that ends the universe setting off another Big Bang.


Rushing backward in time, Farnsworth witnesses the Big Bang and travels through time back to his home year. Along the way, he sees glimpses of various futures also seen in "The Late Phillip J. Fry," including one where robots turned on humanity and idyllic periods ruled by innocent creatures. However, while the machine indicates it is in the 6000s, a different animated show pops up: Bean, Elfo, and Luci from Disenchantment, drinking beers and hanging out. This suggests that the two shows share a single universe and that Disenchantment is actually set in the distant future of Futurama. Given the magic and medieval elements of Disenchantment, that might initially seem like a far-fetched idea. But given the way society ebbs and flows in Futurama, as well as other references to one another in both, it actually makes a lot of sense.


How Futurama Could Become Disenchantment


Created by Futurama co-creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, Disenchantment is a fun romp that riffs on plenty of fantasy tropes and elements. The show focuses on Bean, the princess of Dreamland, and her unlikely friends as they confront numerous unexpected threats. Disenchantment has briefly appeared in Futurama before as a quick reference, but the former has also included numerous in-universe allusions to the sci-fi comedy. Alva Gunderson -- a character quietly teased to have a connection to Futurama's perpetual villain Mom -- has been shown to possess a number of robotic minions that bear a resemblance to Bender. His realm of Steamland also has a Farnsworth Boulevard, potentially teasing a deeper link between Futurama's Professor and that world. The appearance of Bean and her friends as Farnsworth travels through time offers a solid explanation for the show's placement in Futurama's world.


Instead of being a precursor to the sci-fi comedy, it appears that Disenchantment is actually a distant sequel to Futurama. The time machine hints that it takes place roughly three thousand years after the events of Futurama, which may initially seem like a strange placement. But Futurama's other instances of travel through time highlighted how society often seems to be in a loop. At various points in the timeline, society is shown to crumble within Futurama's timeline -- either by human failings, robotic uprisings, or alien intervention. In some of these periods, humanity regresses in terms of society and technology, returning to more medieval conceptions of life. Fry, Bender, and Prof. Farnsworth encountered some of these during "The Late Phillip J. Fry." This idea is so baked into Futurama's DNA that it even appears in the show's original episode. During the montage of time-passing by the frozen Fry in Season 1's "Space Pilot 3000," society can be seen collapsing under alien assaults. The resulting new society is shown to be medieval in appearance. This would seem to be the fate of Futurama's world as well, as society on Earth appears to be fated to suffer an apocalyptic fate, only for society to reemerge in a new society. This would explain the remnants of technology that lingered into Disenchantment's world, recasting them as relics of a bygone era.


The Simpsons, Futurama, & Disenchantment Share A Single Universe


Even Disenchantment's magic, being inherently different from Futurama's sci-fi, can be explained in some ways. Futurama has repeatedly drawn attention to the way its advanced tech is effectively magic, especially in regard to magic. Robot Hell is a frequent location the Planet Express Crew has endured, and they've encountered the Robot Devil numerous times. A different version of the Devil -- but with a similar silly streak despite his inherent menace -- has appeared in Disenchantment. This suggests that the supernatural does exist in both shows in some form and that "hell" has become more encompassing by the time of Disenchantment.


This wouldn't be the first time Futurama embraced a connection to another animated series, either. Numerous episodes of The Simpsons have placed the two in the same universe as well. This suggests that on top of sharing thematic throughlines, the three shows Matt Groening is involved in the creation of seem to have a single timeline. It also adds a bit of bittersweet resistance to their respective worlds. Although Springfield and New New York seem doomed to eventually collapse, something new is always built upon the ruins as life finds a way to continue. It quietly gives all three shows another common theme and strengthens their stories.

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