The Simpsons Creator Teases "Ambitious" Plans For Apu

The Simpsons is staying on the air for the foreseeable future, and one of the issues it will address is what happens with Apu after actor Hank Azaria announced he won't voice him any more. Series creator Matt Groening told USA Today that the producers of the show have plans for Apu to continue to be on the show in some capacity.

Groening can't or won't say much right now, but he teased an "ambitious" idea around Apu. "We've got plans for Apu, but we have to see if we can make the stories work," Groening said. Asked directly if Disney has hired a new voice actor for Apu, Groening said, "No."

"We're working on something kind of ambitious. That's all I can say," he said.

The Simpsons was criticized for making Apu a stereotype. Not only that, but the show overall was called out for having white actors, like Azaria, voicing non-white characters. In light of the controversy, Groening said he's proud of Apu.

"I think the Apu stories are fantastic, and he's one of the most nuanced characters on a silly two-dimensional cartoon show. So, yeah, I'm proud of Apu," he said. "I'm trying not to open up another chasm of criticism, but it doesn't matter what I say. I'll get it anyway."

The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters, which impacts a number of characters on the show. Groening said in the interview that he is "fine" with this change.

"Who can be against diversity? So it's great. However, I will just say that the actors were not hired to play specific characters. They were hired to do whatever characters we thought of," he said. "To me, the amazing thing is seeing all our brilliant actors who can do multiple voices, do multiple voices. That's part of the fun of animation, However, to be more inclusive and hire more people, I'm completely in favor of that."

Finally, Groening was asked if, years ago, when The Simpsons was casting roles, it would have been better to go with a more diverse cast. Groening said, "Yeah. And I hear they want to take the guns away from Yosemite Sam. He's a little hot-headed."

The Simpsons recently marked its 700th episode, but the producers aren't sure it will make it to 1,000.