Kumail Nanjiani Isn't Prismo In 'Adventure Time: Fionna And Cake' And The Reason Is Messy

A Twitter reconciliation probably was not on your bingo card

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, the latest series in the Adventure Time franchise, premiered on Max on Thursday, August 31. It stars Madeleine Martin and Roz Ryan as genderswapped versions of original series protagonists Finn and Jake. Fionna and Cake themselves do originate from the original series, same voices, initially seeming to be Ice King’s own stories but hinting at something broader. This multiversal tale features many returns from the main universe, including that very now-ex Ice King Simon Petrikov and even Finn himself, with Tom Kenny and Jeremy Shada reprising their respective roles. However, there was one returning character thus far who’s surprisingly been recast, and it’s very complicated.

At the center of the multiverse, the Wish Master Prismo, the dream-projection manifestation from an old man, resides in the Time Room. He’s a pink humanoid shadow who moves across the walls, floors and ceilings. In his original appearances, he was voiced by Kumail Nanjiani, from Silicon Valley, Welcome to Chippendales, The Big Sick, and Eternals. Come Fionna and Cake, and fans find that Prismo is now voiced by Sean Rohani. On Sunday, August 3, Twitter user reitheboi tweets out the news that Nanjiani doesn’t return. He finds the tweet and replies “Yeah, that’s not me. I would have loved to voice Prismo again. He’s one of my absolute favorite characters I’ve ever had the honor of playing. He is very close to my heart. Unfortunately they never asked me to come back and voice him again. I would have done it for free.”

Soon enough, Adam Muto, Adventure Time showrunner since Finn and Jake season 5 found Nanjiani’s tweet and set the record straight, saying “Hey, we would’ve loved to have you back. We were told by casting that several offers went out to your reps. We said we could be flexible in scheduling but received a respectful pass. Sorry it didn’t work out.” Immediately, Nanjiani’s demeanor changed, his frustration redirected: “Wow. They never told me. That is ridiculous. I am very sorry for that. And I will be talking to my reps. Can you tell me when you would have sent the offer? I want to figure out what happened. And congrats on the premiere!”

It’s good to see the situation worked out, even if it was way after anything could be fixed. Like if “Weird” Al Yankovic only ever got the refusal from Lady Gaga’s management and soldiered on never releasing “Perform This Way”. Even still, Sean Rohani deserved better circumstances to get his name out there. The multiversal nature of the story allows both Olivia Olson to return as Marceline the Vampire Queen and Donald Glover to do the same as Marshall Lee. It even sidestepped Justin Roiland’s firing by not quite recasting his but introducing female Lemongrabs voiced by Cree Summer and Jinkx Monsoon.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake created by Pendleton Ward featuring Natasha Allegri’s character designs, was recently revealed to have been born as a refitted Simon-focused Distant Lands special. With ten episodes, the series will continue to premiere two episodes every week until the end of the month, September 28 on Max.

Sources: Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Muto