The Simpsons: 9 Guest Stars Confirmed For Season 36

The Simpsons is already set to have a star-studded season 36, with the show’s 2024 San Diego Comic-Con panel confirming several of the big names who’ll appear in upcoming episodes. The Simpsons has become a long-standing fixture in pop culture, with hundreds of stars across the world of entertainment, sports, politics, taking a visit to Springfield. It looks like season 36 will continue that trend, with The Simpsons‘ creatives confirming during their Comic-Con panel who some of the guests will be this season. Screen Rant was in attendance, and got to see some clips confirming guest animators for The Simpsons.

Season 36 of The Simpsons will bring back some previous guests who’ve appeared on the show, seemingly reprising their previous self-aware appearances. Others could be potentially bring back their prior characters, including a long-forgotten member of the Simpsons family. Guest animators are taking a swing at the show, bringing their own visual flavor to the long-running show. While other guest stars could appear over the course of the season, the collection of stars set to appear in Springfield this season is already strong enough to get fans excited. These are all the guest stars confirmed for The Simpsons season 36.

8 Conan O’Brien

Conan O’Brien Formerly Wrote For The Simpsons And Appeared In Season 5

The Simpsons season 36 is set to involve a number of returning and fresh guest stars, highlighting the star power that the long-standing animation institution still has in the world of entertainment. One of the big confirmed returning voice-talents will be Conan O’Brien, who has a deep history with The Simpsons. O’Brien is set to appear in the upcoming episode “Bart’s Birthday,” playing himself.

Before he became an iconic talk show host on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show, and Conan, Conan O’Brien was a writer who worked on a number of shows, including The Simpsons. His work on the show included fan-favorite episodes like season 5’s “Marge vs. the Monorail.” Conan is set to appear as himself in the episode. Notably, Conan has actually already met Bart. Conan appeared as himself in season 5’s “Bart Gets Famous,” interviewing Bart after he briefly became a TV star as a part of the in-universe Krusty the Clown show.

7 Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito Appeared As Homer’s Half-Brother In Seasons 2, 3, And 24

Danny DeVito is another one of the stars set to appear in The Simpsons. DeVito will appear in “Bart’s Birthday.” DeVito is also a veteran of The Simpsons, and actually appeared twice in the early seasons of the show. While it’s possible that he may be playing a new character in the show, DeVito may also be reprising his role as Herb Powell, Homer’s half-brother. Herb Powell was introduced in season 2’s born years before Homer as the result of an affair between Abe Simpson and a carnival worker. Herb was a wealthy and successful automotive CEO, whose reunion with Homer ended up inadvertently bringing down his company.

His subsequent appearance in season 3’s “Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?” saw Homer help reinvigorate his career and restore his fortune. While a throwaway gag in season 24 suggested he’d lost his fortune again, Herb’s wealth and the title could explain the number of guest stars who appear in “Bart’s Birthday.” Although DeVito could be playing a different character this time around, it would be exciting to see Herb make another on-screen appearance after over thirty years.

6 John Cena

The Former WWE Star Will Make His The Simpsons Debut

John Cena is another one of the guest stars set to appear in “Bart’s Birthday,” highlighting the star-studded the season 36 premiere will be. It isn’t clear who Cena will be playing in the episode, but his star status makes him a natural fit for the show. John Cena rose to prominence as a wrestler in the WWE before making the leap to film and television.

He’s among the most successful wrestlers to leap to other fields in the entertainment industry, with starring roles in movies like The Fast and the Furious franchise and shows like Peacemaker. He’s also proven to be particularly gifted as a comedy actor, with his roles in movies like Vacation Friends, Ricky Stanicky, and the upcoming Jackpot!. Cena’s impressive comedic skills will likely make him a good fit for The Simpsons, which has always been a great showcase for broad performances and goofy celebrity roles.

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5 Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks Appeared In The Simpsons Movie

Tom Hanks is one of Hollywood’s most iconic performers, with the legendary actor returning to The Simpsons. Hanks is set to appear in “Bart’s Birthday,” which will be his second appearance in the long-running animated franchise. However, it will be the first time he appears in the series proper, compared to his previous brief appearance. Hanks appeared as himself in a minor role in The Simpsons Movie, serving as the spokesman for Russ Cargill’s plans to replace the secretly eradicated Springfield with a new “natural landmark.”

Hanks’ role is minor in the movie but one of the most memorable gags in the film, with the actor overtly deploying his immense charm with a subtly unnerving and very silly performance. It’s unclear if Hanks will be reprising the parody version of himself who appeared in the movie, or if Hanks will be playing a different character in-universe, but it’s an exciting development for The Simpsons season 36 to feature one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

4 Major League Baseball Players

MLB Stars Have Been Appearing In The Simpsons Since Season 3

Season 36’s “Bart’s Birthday” will also bring a number of Major League Baseball players to Springfield. While the roster of players has yet to be confirmed at the time of this writing, this isn’t the first time that stars of the sport have appeared in The Simpsons. A roster of baseball stars from season 3’s “Homer at Bat” appeared as themselves.

Recruited by Mr. Burns to take over Springfield Nuclear softball team, the episode featured memorable appearances by Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Scioscia and Terry Cashman as themselves. Other baseball players have appeared in subsequent seasons of the show, including Randy Johnson and Mark McGwire. While many of these players could potentially return for the new episode, it wouldn’t be surprising to see modern stars of the sport make the leap to the animated show.

3 Jorge R. Gutierrez

Jorge R. Guiterrez Will Be A Guest Animator

Jorge R. Gutierrez is set to contribute to an upcoming episode in The Simpsons season 36. Guterrez is an animator, writer, producer, director, painter, and voice actor who’s been involved in several films and shows. He co-created El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, and was the co-writer/director on 2014’s The Book of Life. Gutierrez is the latest guest animator to join The Simpsons, bringing their own vibes to the franchise.

This has showcased all the different ways the animated series can be reinterpreted and remixed, with Guterrez bringing some of his personal stylistic approach to the classic show. Screen Rant was in attendance at the panel, and saw a clip teasing that the sequence will reimagine the titular family and depict them like calaveras. They even reportedly do lucha fights in a video game style, which would be an exciting visual swing for the show to take with the Simpsons.

2 Seth Green and John Harvatine IV

Seth Green’s Robot Chicken Previously Animated A Couch Gag

The upcoming “Treehouse of Horror IIIV” will feature a segment featuring stop-motion animation courtesy of Seth Green and John Harvatine IV. The short, titled “Denim,” will be a parody of Venom that sees Homer fusing with a pair of sentient jeans. According to the panel, the segment will be largely animated in the traditional show format but will feature a stop-motion version of the jeans.

On top of a lengthy career in films and shows like Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Seth Green is one of the creators on the stop-motion sketch comedy series Robot Chicken for Adult Swim. The show also features John Harvatine IV as a director and producer, who also took part in “Denim.” Robot Chicken has previously taken over The Simpsons, animating couch gags for the show through the production company Stoopid Buddies, During the panel, Green and Harvatine revealed the model for the jeans, which will try to take over Homer and even attempt to kill Marge.

1 Andy Serkis

Andy Serkis Previously Appeared In Season 14

Andy Serkis is set to return to The Simpsons in the upcoming season. Serkis has been confirmed to be a guest star in “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes.” The episode will be an three-part anthology that adapts various Ray Bradbury stories, featuring the Simpsons characters. Serkis’ role hasn’t been confirmed in the special, but it won’t be the first time the actor has appeared in The Simpsons.

Serkis rose to prominence thanks to his highly-acclaimed performance as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Serkis has since flexed his creative muscles in other roles like Caesar in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes trilogy and stepping into the director’s chair for Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Serkis previously appeared in Season 14’s “Dude, Where’s My Ranch?” as the prospector Cleanie, who heavily resembles Gollum. It’s a fun reference to one of the actor’s most famous roles, while his next appearance in The Simpsons might give him the chance to bring a horrific touch to Springfield.

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is a long-running animated TV series created by Matt Groening that satirically follows a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield. Homer, a bit of a schmoe who works at a nuclear power plant, is the provider for his family, while his wife, Marge, tries to keep sanity and reason in the house to the best of her ability. Bart is a born troublemaker, and Lisa is his super-intelligent sister who finds herself surrounded by people who can’t understand her. Finally, Maggie is the mysterious baby who acts as a deus ex machina when the series calls for it. The show puts the family in several wild situations while constantly tackling socio-political and pop-culture topics set within their world, providing an often sharp critique of the subjects covered in each episode. This series first premiered in 1989 and has been a staple of Fox’s programming schedule ever since.

Cast

Tress MacNeille , Julie Kavner , Harry Shearer , Pamela Hayden , Nancy Cartwright , Hank Azaria , Dan Castellaneta , Yeardley Smith

Release Date

December 17, 1989

Network

FOX

Franchise(s)

The Simpsons

Writers

Matt Groening , James L. Brooks , Sam Simon

Directors

David Silverman , Jim Reardon , Mark Kirkland

Showrunner

Al Jean

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San Diego Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con is a yearly pop culture event celebrating movies, TV Shows, video games, and more. Each year, thousands of people flock to San Diego to attend the event, which hosts various celebrities and guests. SDCC was first held in 1970 under the banner Golden State Comic Book Convention.

Dates

July 25-28, 2024

Location

San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA

Website

From San Diego Comic-Con 2024