Despite being one of the franchise’s most iconic characters, Kelsey Grammer says Sideshow Bob may not be back for The Simpsons Movie 2. Having debuted all the way back in season 1 of the Fox animated series, Grammer’s character is best known for being one of the long-running antagonists in the world of The Simpsons, starting as an employee of Krusty the Clown who, after years of abuse, attempted to frame him for a crime, only to be thwarted by Bart, with many of his subsequent appearances seeing Bob trying to kill the young character.

In a recent interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan to discuss his disaster thriller Turbulence, Grammer was asked about the in-development Simpsons Movie 2. Confessing he had also just learned about it around the time the public did, the six-time Emmy winner revealed the film’s team “haven’t gotten in touch with me yet“ about reprising his role as Sideshow Bob for the long-awaited sequel.

However, in “putting my grown-up producer’s hat on” and reflecting on what kind of role his character could have in the film, Grammer explained that the Simpsons sequel may be better off without Sideshow Bob entirely. Pointing out that his involvement typically has him as “the primary move in a narrative of a certain aura,” Grammer expressed his doubts about a feature-length story with Bob as the villain:

To do a whole movie about just Sideshow Bob’s revenge or trying to find or kill Bart again? It has been fun to find the ingenious different ways he could go about it. I love when he sang opera at La Scala in Italy. That, to me, was the ultimate, but it takes a lot of air out of the room.

With that being said, Grammer did acknowledge that the film could “maybe have him do a cameo” if to not be the villain that “dominates the film’s storyline.” Even then, the star expressed his uncertainty as to how Sideshow Bob would fit into the fold, pointing out that there “are so many other beloved characters” the sequel could explore and that he wouldn’t want to “eclipse that” by appearing.

Nonetheless, Grammer assured he’d “be very pleased” to get to come back for The Simpsons Movie 2. He even went on to share his family’s ongoing love for the franchise, with he and his children wanting to go to Universal Studios in Hollywood, which has the Springfield area built around The Simpsons Ride itself, every “three or four months” to celebrate their birthdays.

Considering just how many characters there are in The Simpsons franchise, there’s certainly arguments to be made in either direction about whether Sideshow Bob should return. The Golden Globe-nominated 2007 film brought back a mass majority of primary and recurring characters to the fold, even as they were introducing new ones like Albert Brooks’ Russ Cargill.

Moreover, The Simpsons has retired numerous characters in the 18 years since the last movie came out, all for a variety of reasons. Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu was memorably made a minimal character after accusations of being a South Asian stereotype, while Edna Krabappel was notably written out after the death of voice actor, Marcia Wallace.

Even Sideshow Bob’s most recent appearance in the series’ White Lotus spoof in season 36 could act as a foundation for his return in The Simpsons Movie 2. Having had his attempt at a healthy relationship foiled by a worried Marge warning his new partner of Bob’s past, the character could now be seeking revenge against the family as a whole, much in the way he has in a variety of other storylines in the franchise’s past.

As Grammer notes, though, there are enough factors as to why Sideshow Bob may ultimately not return for The Simpsons Movie 2. For starters, the character had his sole scene in the 2007 film deleted from the final cut, while a hesitation to underutilize or overutilize Bob may see the creative team leave him out yet again. However, with how organic the team made some other recurring characters fit into the original film, there’s always a hope for the Frasier star to once again take up the role of the spiked-hair eccentric.