Posted in: Adult Swim, Conventions, Events, NYCC, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: NYCC, rick and morty

Rick and Morty Confirmed for Seasons 11 & 12: Season 8 Update & More

Series co-creator Dan Harmon and Showrunner Scott Marder confirmed that Adult Swim's Rick and Morty will be back for Seasons 11 and 12.

It was last month when the good news hit that New York Comic Con 2024 (NYCC 2024) would see series co-creator/EP Dan Harmon, showrunner/EP Scott Marder, and voice actors Harry Belden, Ian Cardoni, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer, and Chris Parnell taking to the Main Stage for a panel presentation previewing what's to come with Adult Swim's Rick and Morty Season 8. What did we learn about the Emmy Award-winning animated series? In terms of beyond Season 8, Marder shared that the team was "almost done writing the first pass of Season 10."

Grammer teased that we will be seeing a Summer-focused episode – and another new side to the character. Parnell confirmed a Jerry-focused episode and teased that a holiday will be spotlighted that usually doesn't get a lot of attention. Cardoni teased some new versions of Rick, while Chalke dropped that she got a play a third type of Beth in the second episode. Belden and Cardoni then segue into an impromptu exchange between Rick and Morty as Morty tries to resist entering "The Vault of Spoilers."

From there, we were treated to a look at an animatics preview of an upcoming episode – where the combination of Morty's morality and Rick's need to grift led to some serious trouble aboard a spaceship of folks in hibernation. And then… the big reveal! Harmon and Marder confirmed that the animated series will be back for Seasons 11 and 12.

Rick and Morty Season 8: Evil Morty, Mr. Poopybutthole Theory & More

If you appreciated how Seasons 6 and 7 were able to maintain a proper balance between canon/mythology episodes and those standalone "classic Rick and Morty adventures," then you'll like what's in store for Season 8. "There's obviously been a lot of shakeups and transitions that have happened that are luckily coinciding with some of these canonical storylines being resolved. If I could set a framework for fans of the show, it's the old characters and all these things, but it's like, this is an opportunity for a rebirth," Harmon explained during an interview from earlier this year. "I mean, the kind of canonical things like searching for Rick Prime, these are things that come out of the ether, and then they acquire this gravity, and then they become a canonical serialized story. I think people should expect more random embers shooting off of that fire and turning into organically gigantic serialized things of their own."

But with Harmon being a fan of the standalone adventures, viewers shouldn't be expecting them to be going anywhere anytime soon. "I will always target the episodic personally. Because, like, your job is to fight gravity. And gravity is serialization. That's what happens organically; gravity is a great thing. But you're supposed to want to fly." Marder reaffirmed that the eighth season will be looking to strike the episodic balance that the previous two seasons achieved. "Eight will have a lot of similar flow and vibes to six and seven, which is like a cool balance of silly and one-up canonical stuff. That's the stuff I want as a fan. And that's the stuff that Harmon and I work on all jammed together. I'm really proud of these last couple of seasons; they're sort of the perfect blend of what I look for as a fan," he added.

Could that include the return of Evil Morty at some point? Most definitely – in case anyone thought his ominous warning before departing our dimension (with one serious ultimate weapon) in "Unmortricken" would be the last that we would hear from him. "We can expect to see him in the future. We certainly have plans and grand designs with him, for sure," Marder shared – though not confirming that his return would happen during the eighth season.

And then there is the Mr. Poopybutthole question. Like us, a lot of folks are getting a feeling that Poopybutthole's overarching storyline is lading him to becoming a major big bad for our heroes. "Shit. Well, now we can't do that, or he can sue us, right? Good job, internet! You blew it again!" Harmon joked during the interview when presented with the theory. "No, in all seriousness, I do love that guy [the person who posted the theory online] so much; I want to encourage those kinds of theories. I love, love that stuff. I love him, particularly the amount of energy he puts into that stuff," the series co-creator added. While Marder found the theory interesting, he also shared that was "not their plan for him" – adding that "I always love what fans take and run with in any show."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!