With or without Justin Roiland, Adult Swim has reiterated time and time again that the show must go on. And based on the Rick and Morty season 7 trailer featuring the since-ousted co-creatorโs unidentified vocal replacement, transitioning to the post-Roiland era will be 99% seamless..
While the titular Rick Sanchez is mostly there (as in 90% bang-on; higher tone/yelling delivery still needs work), the titular Morty Smith is practically indistinguishable from the original.
Here are some of the first reactionsโฆ
โMorty, I couldnโt tell a difference, just sounds a lot more confident which matches his character growth. Should be interesting to see.โ
โWow. Sounds pretty true to the original voices. I feel like weโll all get used to the differences and forget what they used to sound like until we go back and rewatch old episodes.โ
โWhoever they got to do the voices are much better than I expected to hear. If you listen, you can hear some subtle differences, but not as much as I thought there would be. They are very, very close.โ
โA bit different but honestly the new actors did a BRILLIANT job, I have zero issues with this.โ
โOriginally I was so scared that the voices were going to be completely different and I wouldnโt get used to it, but now hearing that Morty is spot on and Rick only sounds a tad off makes me so happy.โ
โSo they actually sound super close. Was hoping for Sean Kelly but these guys nailed it. The real test is to see a full episode and all the nuance and mannerisms in their performance. Itโs more than just sounding like the character as well.โ
โI think the voices work pretty well as far as replacements go. Good job on the voice actor they got to fill in.โ
โThis isโฆ acceptable.โ
Despite being cleared of the felony domestic violence charges that instigated his reputational decline, and unearthed a deeper mine of questionable behaviour in the process, Adult Swim has stood by its decision to sever ties with Justin Roiland; Hulu โ which is home to Roilandโs other successful animated property Solar Opposites โ has also followed suit and since recast Dan Stevens in his role(s).
But according to a damning exposรฉ published around the time fecal matter hit the fan, it wonโt really move the needle in any significant way. In fact, by all accounts, production might even run a little smoother.
โMultiple sources say that Justin Roiland, other than voice work, has not had any meaningful creative presence on any of the series that bears his name,โ wrote Lacey Rose and Katie Kilkenny of The Hollywood Reporter.
โMany of his former colleagues say they havenโt heard from him in years, and when they have, itโs been unpleasant. They note, too, that he hasnโt been on speaking terms with his Rick and Morty co-creator, Dan Harmon, for multiple seasons, and a substantial number of staffers on that show as well as Solar Opposites and Koala Man have never actually met Roiland, even over Zoom.โ
For the sophomore season, Dan Harmon enlisted a few writers who had worked for him during his time as the Community showrunner. One insider notes they didnโt treat Justin Roiland with โthe same kind of reverenceโ as the original team did. The bromance between Harmon and Roiland eventually became so bitter that a mediator was brought in to โsalvageโ what was once an โinspiredโ partnership.
Lacey Rose and Katie Kilkenny continued: โThe room became clubbier, and not nearly as much fun โ there were now โDanโs Guys,โ a more cerebral, structured set, and โJustinโs Guys,โ a zany collection of artistsโฆ โDan is all on the page and mathematical about story breaking, and these guys that Justin hired were like, โLook, I drew a turd with eyes, letโs do a story about that.โโ
โDuring season two, Roiland began pulling away, increasingly uninterested in being in a room that had given him great joy only a season earlier. In fact, at one point, he was sitting so far away from the other writers that in order for him to read what was being written on the whiteboard, he had to grab the pair of binoculars that were in the room to scope out wildlife in the mountains overlooking Burbank.โ
โAccording to another show source, he was easily distracted, too; the writers would regularly walk over to a Toys R Us, where they would buy action figures or Nerf guns, and โthen he played with them the rest of the day and we couldnโt get any work done.โ Other show sources say heโd derail pitches and interrupt with sophomoric non-sequiturs like, โWhat if his brains were on the outside?โ It reached a point where multiple sources say it was easier when Roiland wasnโt in the room.โ
โAt some point during the third season of Rick and Morty, multiple sources say Justin Roiland simply stopped showing up โ and when he did turn up in the Burbank offices, heโd typically avoid the writersโ room.โ
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Case in point: after Harmon took the reins, everything began progressing ahead of schedule; the forthcoming seventh season having begun being written back in 2021. Compounded with what weโre ready to deem a near-flawless impersonation of his iconic characters, and it would appear that there really is no need for Justin Roiland.
At the time of this writing, Rick and Morty have been renewed right through to season 10 by Adult Swim. Roiland will apparently continue to be credited as co-creator.
Rick and Morty season 7 premieres via Netflix Australia on October 16th, 2023 (today) โ check out the trailer above.
