Posted in: Adult Swim, Rick and Morty, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, preview, rick and morty, season 7
Rick and Morty Made Sure Rick and Morty Won't Be Doing "Space Jam 3"
In S07E06: "Rickfending Your Mort," Rick and Morty made sure that their dimensional counterparts won't be making any cameos in Space Jam 3.
As product deals & marketing crossovers go, Adult Swim's Rick and Morty has done a pretty great job of staying on the right side of the line that divides expanding the franchise and selling out – whether it's Wendy's, Fortnite, or other past deals. That said, the dimension-hopping duo's appearance on 2021's Space Jam: A New Legacy was a bit of an odd one. Unable to find a way to "cure" whatever's going on with Taz, Rick and Morty drop him back off to LeBron James, Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck. Aside from it feeling a bit "forced" (and not in an ironic way), it also vibed a little too "family friendly" and not exactly what a lot of folks expected – including the folks behind the Emmy Award-winning animated series.
It began in S06E07: "Full Meta Jackrick," when the duo crashed through the fourth wall in an effort to track Story Lord. At one point, Rick warns Morty that the meta radiation they are being exposed to is eroding their credibility – adding that "every second we spend here is the equivalent of ten 'Space Jam' cameos." But it was this past weekend's episode, S07E06: "Rickfending Your Mort" (directed by Jacob Hair and written by Cody Ziglar), where the situation was dealt with – pretty permanently, from the sounds of it. Standing trial for their adventuring and their alleged murderous behavior, Rick makes the argument that the duo doesn't kill for the fun of it (hmmm…) – only to be shown a clip of Rick dragging two body bags back with him through a dimensional portal. As he tells Morty, he just came back from the dimension where the "Space Jam 2" crossover took place – and based on what Rick brought back with him, it was clear that a third appearance wouldn't be happening even if a third film ended up happening. And just in case anyone watching might have a different take on how the show's team feels about the cinematic crossover, having the deceased duo eager to die pretty much drove the point home: "They welcomed death! They wanted out, Morty!"