Summary
- Rick and Morty recasting process has made progress and is nearing completion, according to executive producer Steve Levy at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 .
- Levy expressed satisfaction with the ongoing work on season seven, indicating that fans can expect great things from the show.
- No specific timeline for the announcement of the replacement for Justin Roiland has been provided, but progress is being made in the recasting process.
With one of his shows already finding his replacement, the Rick and Morty recasting process has gotten its first major update since Justin Roiland's firing. After helping create the animated show with Dan Harmon and starring as both the eponymous mad scientist and his neurotic grandson, Roiland was dismissed after being charged with domestic abuse from a former romantic partner. While the charges were dropped, the network has continued with their plan to find a new actor to replace the Emmy winner.
As part of Adult Swim's San Diego Comic-Con 2023 , of which ComicBook.com was in attendance, the Rick and Morty recasting has gotten its first major update from executive producer Steve Levy. Coming six months after Roiland's firing from the hit Adult Swim show, Levy confirmed that the process is "closing in on the end", though didn't offer a timeline of when they will announce the replacement. See what Levy shared below:
We are closing in on the end of our process of the recast. It's gonna be great. I am thoroughly impressed with everything that's going on, including all the work on season 7. Truly, that’s the thing I don’t want to be overshadowed. The show is as good as it’s ever been. It’s sound-alikes. The characters are the same characters. No change.
Why The Rick & Morty Recasting Update Is A Relief
The Rick and Morty recasting update comes just over a month after it was revealed that another of Roiland's shows, Hulu's Solar Opposites, had found his replacement with the acclaimed Downton Abbey and Legion alum Dan Stevens, explaining it as coming from an incident involving Korvo's throat. Rather than attempt to recreate Roiland's gruff, Rick-like voice for the Hulu show, Stevens has retained his natural English accent, making for a more eloquent, but equally agitated, alien.
While it remains unclear how this recasting will be received by Solar Opposites fans, Levy's confirmation that the Rick and Morty team are looking for sound-alikes to replace Roiland may either come as a relief or concern for longtime fans of the show. There have been many imitators throughout the years on social media since the show launched to success, some of whom have been pitched by viewers to take over both roles, while others fall short of Roiland's iconic voices.
One of the biggest theories for how Rick and Morty season 7 would replace Roiland is through the multiverse concept that the show has used for most of its stories, shifting the focus to a Rick with a different voice than the co-creator's. Going with a sound-alike may seem like a step apart from this theory, but for those who put just as much trust in the writers room to deliver effective humor and emotional storytelling as Roiland's improvisational abilities, the search for one who can capture the same manic energy as the former star is sure to come as a welcome sign for the show's future.
Source: ComicBook.com
