Creator's Controversial Exit Makes ‘Rick and Morty’ “Even Better”

Rick and Morty is going through a massive evolution as the series moves forward after co-creator Justin Roiland was removed from his position. This appears to be a new era of everyone’s favorite sci-fi duo because Roiland was the voice of both characters, which will now go to a newly casted person or persons. Producer of the series, Steve Levy, understands the hurdles the show has had to get through and reveals how it will be “even better” after moving on from Roiland.

rick-and-morty-running — Credit: Adult Swim

Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon created a monster of a show that has grown into a cultural phenomenon. The Adult Swim-produced series became an instant hit, resulting in fandom both men had likely never dreamed of. However, years into the show’s existence, news broke about Roiland being arrested and charged with horrific crimes.

The initial charges saw Roiland with charges of corporal injury and false imprisonment by menace, fraud, violence, or deceit against the woman he had been living with. Those charges were dropped this year, but the man’s reputation had already been damaged. Roiland was let go from Rick and Morty, Koala Man, Solar Opposites, and as CEO of Squanch Games—which produced the High on Life video game.

Losing a co-creator and the voice of the series’s main character(s) is not something that anyone had likely prepared for, but Levy revealed that the team has moved past the event and promises that the content produced is “even better.”

Steve Levy Reveals How ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 7 Has Evolved

Morty (L) and Rick (R) covered in slime — Credit: Adult Swim

Steve Levy spoke with the Los Angeles Times about how the Rick and Morty crew have adapted after losing Justin Roiland and dealing with the controversy surrounding him and the series. According to Levy:

“We had a rug pulled from underneath us. The only people we could lean on were each other. It would have been very easy to just say, ‘I’m done and I don’t want to do anything with this show anymore.’ But our crew said, ‘No, we’re not going to let one person drag down all of our hard work.’ This show is created by this team — this family of incredibly hardworking people, and we are going to push through and show the world that we aren’t going to miss a beat.”

It is pretty self-aware that Levy stated that the “rug” was pulled from underneath the show. Despite having to let Justin Roiland go, we imagine the decision would have worried everyone working on the show. How would they move past losing the man responsible for both voices of the titular characters? Well, it appears they have found their stride. Levy added:

“The work that we’re doing across the board has only gotten better,” he added. “When the new season comes out, we’ll focus on how amazing it all turned out. We hope the fans will realize that this is the same old show, maybe even better!”

We have to admit that there is plenty of hope for Rick and Morty, and that was showcased at San Diego Comic-Con back in July. We had the pleasure of attending the panel dedicated to the franchise, which revealed some huge news.

During the panel, Steve Levy was joined by writers and producers of the show, where they discussed what’s in store for the future. For starters, they revealed that Rick and Morty Season 7 would be coming “very soon,” meaning that it might be released later this year. Levy also indicated that the search for a replacement for the main character’s voices was close to ending.

Levy revealed that Rick and Morty would be a voice actor or actors that would mimic what Roiland had already produced. He explained that fans would likely not even hear a difference. That matches his above comments revealing that the series is “the same old show, maybe even better!”

We also saw a cold opening for the new season, bringing back one of the best random characters: Water-T. Levy and company also revealed that known characters would be returning in big ways, like Bird Person and the ever-popular Mr. Poopybutthole.

The panel also revealed the opening for the anticipated Rick and Morty The Anime, which Takashi Sano is creating. Sano had initially produced the original anime shorts and is now getting to turn those shorts into a full-fledged anime series. He promised that some of the best episodes and moments would be given a new anime take, which sounds exciting.

Though we won’t find out what Rick and Morty sound like or even looks like until the seventh season drops, presumably later this year, it does sound like this is an entirely new era for the show—which could be what is exactly what is needed.

rick and morty anime — Credit: Adult Swim

The controversy of Justin Roiland’s exit can be forgotten, and the team can worry about the show’s future entirely. In 2018, Adult Swim signed a massive deal with Harmon and Roiland to extend the series by 70 episodes, taking it through to at least Season 10. Barring any massive setbacks, we imagine the show can carry on father past that. We are excited to see what Rick and Morty will look like in this new era.

Do you think Rick and Morty can be “even better”? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!