Voice actor Johnny Hardwick‘s untimely passing has left fans wondering what the future holds for Dale Gribble in the King of The Hill Reboot.
On January 31st 2023, much to the delight of the fanbase, Hulu confirmed that they had ordered a new season of the hit animated series King Of The Hill to be produced. Creators, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, had notably been vocal in advocating a rebirth for the franchise for over a decade since the shows cancellation in 2010. The community and crew alike immediately began ramping up the hype for the newly renewed series as the remaining original voice actors prepared to slip back into their iconic animated characters. However, during the production of this reboot a tragedy took place on August 8th 2023 as Voice actor Johnny Hardwick, known for portraying the voice of Dale Gribble, a key character in the series, passed away at the age of 64.
Upon the news breaking, both Hulu and 20th Television Animation refused to comment on the future of the Dale Gribble Character. As reported by TVLine Hardwick had recorded “a couple” of episodes for the upcoming revival However The exact number of episodes is unknown.
The question now becomes how will Mike Judge and Greg Daniels address this matter. Previously, The series saw the loss of Brittany Murphy, the voice actor behind Luanne, in 2009 before the series finale. While all the episodes scheduled for the last season had already been recorded and aired as schedule, it has been highly debated since the rumors of the reboot began if we would be seeing a recast Luanne Platter. Many fans of the series took to the forums to argue the character of Luanne could easily be written out in an effort to honor Brittany’s work. This problem now becomes while this argument may seemingly be an option for secondary and tertiary characters like Luanne and Lucky (Voiced by the late Tom Petty) The creators would have a harder time getting around arguably one of the man 4 characters in Dale.
While it’s not exactly something the series is known for, there have been a handful of recasting’s, most notably in the case of John Redcorn who was initially voiced by Victor Aaron before being replaced by the now Jonathan Joss. While some may find it as a slight to Hardwick, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Especially when it ensures the continued existence of a beloved character. With Dale Gribble being arguably one of the most impersonated voices already amongst internet culture, it is not unreasonable to believe this is the most realistic route for the rebirth of KOTH.
On the flip side, with a handful of episodes already recorded the much more dramatic and uncomfortably real route would be to have the comedically unhealthy, chain-smoking, Gribble to pass on alongside his voice actor in the KOTH universe. While this might be a hard sell for the community, it would certainly keep the series grounded and respectful. Alternatively, an episode centered around Dale Gribble having to give up smoking due to his deteriorating health and noticeable changes to his voice would work as a nice neat middle ground as to explaining a slight tone difference a new voice actor might bring.
Whatever route Jude and Daniels end up taking we know they will have all the respect and love in the world put towards Dale Gribble as to show respect to their late friend Johnny Hardwick. With this series set to pick back up 15 years later in modern day, all of these routes are given a little more time to flesh out how the modern day Arlen looks come 2024.
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Adeyemi, Boluwatife. “King Of The Hill’s Dale Actor Recorded For Series Revival Before His Death, Report Confirms.” ScreenRant, 14 Aug. 2023, screenrant.com/king-of-the-hill-dale-actor-revival-episodes-recorded/.
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