 At the time of his death , Hartman was preparing to voice Zapp Brannigan , a character written specifically for him on Groening 's second animated series Futurama . Even though the role was made for Hartman , he still insisted on auditioning and according to Groening , he ' nailed it ' . After Hartman 's death , Futurama 's lead character Philip J. Fry was named in his honor , and Billy West took over the role of Brannigan . Though executive producer David X. Cohen credits West with using his own take on the character , West later said that he purposely tweaked Zapp 's voice to better match Hartman 's intended portrayal . Hartman was also planning to appear with Lovitz in the indie film The Day of Swine and Roses , scheduled to begin production in August 1998 . 
