UPDATE 2:14 P.M. PST: Well, so much for that.
Not even 24 hours after social media blew up in a fit (below) about Marge Simpson being killed off, the show’s executive producer Matt Selman spoke to Variety on Thursday and confirmed that the beloved matriarch is NOT dead — and not dying anytime soon, either! Or maybe ever!
Selman said:
“Obviously since The Simpsons’ future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they’re all different every time. Marge will probably never be dead ever again. The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago.”
And in no uncertain terms, he went on to note that there have been SO MANY flashbacks and flash-forwards on the show through the years that viewers shouldn’t take one specific timeline move so seriously! He said:
“There is no canon. The Simpsons doesn’t even have canon!”
Alrighty!
__________
It’s all over for one of the most beloved characters on The Simpsons. Kinda?
During the season 36 finale, which aired last month but is somehow just now getting buzz (LOL), the animated series showed a flash-forward scene in which matriarch Marge Simpson was dead.
Whoa!!!
Seriously. The look-ahead aired as part of its season-wrapping episode Estranger Things back on May 18, and showed a cut-forward to 35 years in the future when Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are all adults. In the glance, Marge (who is voiced by actress Julie Kavner) is the focus of a funeral scene taking place at her tombstone.
Related: Cheers Star George Wendt’s Cause Of Death Revealed
By that point, grown-up Lisa is the commissioner of the NBA, while Bart is running an unlicensed retirement home (seriously). And it centers on Marge’s worst fear: that her two older kids drifted apart from each other after outgrowing their fave TV series, The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
The peak into the future didn’t offer a reveal about how or why Marge passed, but at one point Lisa refers to her as her “late mother” and reads a letter which Marge had directed “to be opened after I pass.” Later, Marge can be seen looking down from the clouds as Bart and Lisa finally do reunite to watch their beloved Itchy & Scratchy cartoon together as adults.
Oh, and then Beatles drummer Ringo Starr appears from behind her in the clouds and says they’d better go or else they’ll “be late for the Heaven buffet.” To that, Marge kissed the musician and replied:
“Okay Ringo. I’m just so glad that we’re allowed to marry different people in Heaven.”
Ha! Sorry, Homie…
Anyways, it remains TBD how Marge’s death came to be, and we won’t find out until season 37 premieres in the fall. But that hasn’t stopped social media users from slamming the move! Here are a few of the many reactions to Marge’s passing from over on X (Twitter) following last month’s season finale:
“Community justice for MARGE that they killing in season 36 finale in a flash forward scene. She has been one of my fav character of Simpsons all these years.”
“They f**king killed off Marge Simpson. That’s insanity. Might as well kill off Randy Marsh from South Park and Stewie from Family Guy while you’re at it.”
“They are killing off Marge Simpson! Every time Disney does anything they kill off the mom”
“What’s this I’m hearing they killed Marge Simpson off????”
“You just ruined my day. I guess I’ll only watch the first 35 Seasons so Marge Simpson can live forever”
“Marge Simpson was the glue that hold the family together. It shows how for so many years she had to put up with Homer shenanigans. So maybe this makes Simpsons more interesting of a show.”
Again, this came in a flash-forward scene set 35 years in the future, so Marge probably isn’t going to die in the current storyline for a while. And we still don’t know exactly how it’ll play out once season 37 ramps up. Lots of questions to be answered.
But still, what a crazy situation! Thoughts?! Reactions?? Share ’em (below)!
[Image via 20th Century Fox/The Simpsons/YouTube]
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