Original 'Futurama' cast 'will return'

The original cast of Futurama will return for the reboot of the animated series, it has been reported.

In June, Comedy Central ordered 26 episodes of the show that previously ran on Fox from 1999 to 2003. New actors were then auditioned to replace the voices of the series' established characters when the studio could not meet the previous stars' salary demands.

However, five actors from the original programme - Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio Maurice LaMarche and Tress MacNeille – have signed a deal with 20th Century Fox TV to lend their vocal talents to the two-year run of the show, Variety reports.

"We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back," creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen said in a statement. "The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters."

The animated sci-fi series is to premiere on Comedy Central in mid-2010.