Posted in: Adult Swim, Preview, Rick and Morty, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, dan harmon, Justin Roiland, preview, rick and morty

Rick and Morty: Justin Roiland Still Out, Being Recast; Big Updates

Some big Rick and Morty news coming out of Annecy, including a major update on Justin Roiland as well as Seasons 7, 8, 9, and (yes) 10.

We knew heading into this week that Co-EP Steve Levy, voice actor Spencer Grammer (Summer), and Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen would be at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival for "'Rick and Morty': 10 Years of Intergalactic Adventures." What we didn't realize was that we would be getting some major updates from Levy & Ouweleen, courtesy of the French edition of Premiere. Just to be clear? This is coming from some Google translating on our part, but the responses are definitely interesting. First up, Levy teased that Season 7 have some "very cool things in stock" with Ouweleen adding that the new season will hit this year (and while not confirming September, Ouweleen shared that they like to keep the show's return at around the same dates every year). Levy also shared that Season 8 is already written, some of Season 9 was drawn before the WGA/AMPTP writers' strike, and early planning was underway for Season 10. But the biggest question hanging over both today's panel as well as the Emmy Award-winning series' future? What's the deal with Justin Roiland, the series co-creator (alongside Dan Harmon)?

Back in March, we learned that two months after Adult Swim, Squanch Games, Disney & 20th TV Animation had cut ties with Roiland, domestic violence charges against him were dismissed "as a result of having insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," said Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Since that time, things got pretty quiet as questions began to grow. Now, based on the translating we performed, it looks like Roiland still won't be returning to the Adult Swim series. When asked by the reporter what would happen to the characters that Roiland voiced, Ouweleen confirmed that Roiland will be replaced in dubbing, with Levy adding that they're still in the recruitment process for voice actors.

Here's a look at the Google Translate responses from the original article:

On Roiland Being Replaced, Voice Acting Being Just One Part of Series & If Viewers Will Notice

Ouweleen: "The idea is that we feel that they are the same characters. Listen: voices are obviously super important in an animated series. And, of course, none of us wanted to go through what we went through. But I've been in animation for a long time, and I know that what makes a series is its different parts coming together. If the voices are obviously a big part, there is also the writing of the characters, their design… I have reason to believe that the transition will go well."

Levy: "The quality of writing has never been better, and all the screenwriters have stayed. I don't think anyone will bat an eyelid hearing the new voices."

Ouweleen: "[On recasting process] But it's looking good. It's a rather unique situation… I'll take an example: there have been several great Bugs Bunny voice actors, and I love what Jeff Bennett has done with them. But it's not Mel Blanc! And yet we recognize the character. I even think that for 'Rick and Morty' we will do even better… It will be fine. It'll be great."

On How "Rick and Morty" Team Responded to Justin Roiland's Departure

Levy: The pill was hard to swallow. We were shocked and disturbed by what happened. But we stuck together, and we put all our energy into the series. We decided to stay positive, and in the end, we produced the best drawings, scripts, and animations of the entire series. And Dan Harmon [the co-creator of Rick and Morty] has always been in the trenches with us every step of the way. He always has an eye on everything, and sometimes that means he asks us to rewrite entire scripts, but for the good of the series. He never walked away after Justin left.

Ouweleen: There is no guide on how to react to this kind of thing. And it's not normal to experience that. Of course, it's hard; of course, it hurts. But when a whole team works on a series, the series actually becomes more important than one person. Season 7 will be pivotal; we know it, but I think we've never done better so far.

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