FUTURAMA fans are in for a treat - Matt Groening's much-loved animation is to return with a "slap in the face" for Fox.

The show, which will feature in a four-part movie series, was originally axed in 2003 by the network.

And the cartoon's comeback is riddled with cheeky asides, in reference to its cancellation five years ago.

The first part of the series is entitled Bender's Big Score, which sees Planet Express getting invaded by alien internet spammers.

John DiMaggio, who voices the robot Bender, said: "The opening five minutes is just a slap in the face to Fox which is pretty funny because every big corporation deserves a slap in the face every once in a while.

"But they had it coming. Am I going to get fired for this?"