Posted in: Adult Swim, Preview, Rick and Morty, san diego comic con, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, rick and morty, sdcc, sdcc 2023, season 7

Rick and Morty "Closing In On" Justin Roiland Recast; Anime Preview

EP Steve Levy updated the Justin Roiland recasting process and released a preview for Rick and Morty: The Anime - but no Season 7 date.

With Adult Swim Festival on the Green officially underway as part of the overall San Diego Comic-Con experience, we've been playing the speculation game when it comes to what we're going to learn about Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland's Rick and Morty. The event teased learning at least something about the upcoming season – could that mean we get to meet/hear the dimension-hopping duo's new voice actor? Could it be an update on the anime spinoff series? "We are closing in on the end of our process of the recast, but I do want to say 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," shared EP Steve Levy. Though there isn't a premiere date set for the seventh season yet ("Pretty dang soon"), Levy reassured fans that they shouldn't worry about the new voices sounding much different from what they're used to. "It's soundalikes. The characters are the same characters — no change," Levy responded to the fan-asked question.

But we did get a very big update on Rick and Morty: The Anime in the form of a look at the opening credits, followed by a chance to hear from director Takashi Sano about what the series plans to bring to the franchise and and how honored he is to be able to continue crafting stories in the "Rick and Morty" universe:

Rick and Morty: Levy & Ouweleen on What Makes Series Work

Some of the best updates yet have come from Levy and Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen –  and we have a couple more perspectives from them to pass along. During an interview with Premiere, Levy & Ouweleen discussed striking the right balance between the "canon" episodes (like those with Rick Prime and Evil Morty) and the dimension-hopping duo's standalone adventures. In addition,  they explain why the series has been able to connect with fans after so long.

"Dan Harmon, the series co-creator, grew up watching sitcoms of the 70s and 80s, where each episode operated independently of the others. Nothing was 'serialized,' and that allowed a series to last much longer. I don't see us writing a series with a red thread to follow every week, it would be too hard. Imagine ten seasons of that on 'Rick and Morty!' We would end up making episodes just to make episodes and feed the story as best we can," Levy explained when explaining how the series approaches stories that feed into the canon and the overarching storylines with the "standalone" approach that Rick and Morty originated with.

"The concept has always been to go from one adventure to another. On the other hand, we had to feel the characters evolve, and that's where these somewhat special episodes on Evil Morty or Rick Prime come in. But always in small touches, otherwise we would risk saying too much, and we would have nothing more to say! The rule is that there must be at least one episode each season evoking the 'big story.' That way, people are rewarded for continuing to watch the show.

Ouweleen: "Rick and Morty" Works "By Colliding the Sitcom and the Multiverse": "I imagine [the series works] because, basically, it's a family sitcom. If you think about it, 'Rick and Morty' is mostly about the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. Even if we decided to remove all this interdimensional portal story, I'm sure it would still be a fun series. But by colliding the sitcom and the multiverse, then the result becomes completely unpredictable. I believe that is what works."

Levy: "Human Experience" Allows Fan to Connect with Animated Series: "There is also something related to the human experience, which is universal. Seeing Rick and Morty grapple with life's big questions that no one has the answers to is cathartic. The series says that, in fact, we absolutely do not want to have the answers! It allows you to put things into perspective, to remember that only the present matters. So it doesn't matter if you are American, French, or Japanese: everyone is able to understand that. Add a few scatophile jokes, well-written monsters, and characters, and you have a hit [laughs]."

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