Posted in: Adult Swim, Rick and Morty, TV | Tagged: rick and morty

Rick and Morty S08E07 Thoughts: Wait, James Gunn & Zack Snyder!?!

James Gunn, Zack Snyder, and a whole lot more in tonight's episode of Rick and Morty S08E07: "Ricker Than Fiction." We have some thoughts...

Welcome to our real-time thoughts on Adult Swim's Rick and Morty Season 8, with our spotlight shining on S08E07: "Ricker Than Fiction." Heading into tonight, one of the things that caught our eye was the references made to director and EP James Gunn and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and what they did to our leads' favorite film franchise, "RoboTrees." As we're writing this, we're not sure how many digs the Emmy Award-winning animated series will be taking at their bosses and the DC Studios co-CEO, but we do find the timing funny considering Gunn's Superman hits theaters this week (could he be making a voice guest appearance?). All of that got us thinking back to the previous times when Rick and Morty had some fun at the expense of WBD – and even called themselves out along the way.

During S08E04: "The Last Temptation of Jerry," our dimension-hopping duo got a nice dig in at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav. After heading to the Alps during their investigation into the origin of the mutated Easter bunnies (one of which Jerry was slowly turning into after hitting and killing one with his car). "Ah, recent thaw. This altitude should be permafrost," Rick says to Morty at one point during their dimension-hopping travels. "God, I do not wanna say 'climate change' on this show. I don't know which way Zaslav voted."

For those of you who don't know, Zaslav became the poster child (right or wrong because there was enough blame to go around) for all of the bad things during and stemming from "The Great Streaming Wars," including slashing budgets, firing people, and killing films and series for the sake of tax write-offs. In addition, there have been rumblings about where Zaslav's political leanings lie. When HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher host Bill Maher visited The White House to have dinner with Trump, there was chatter that Maher was an unofficial "ambassador" to make nice with Trump and make things smoother for WBD moving forward.

And let's not forget the Space Jam: A New Legacy mea culpa. As product deals and marketing crossovers go, Rick and Morty's appearance in the 2021 feature film was a bit of an odd one. Unable to find a way to "cure" whatever was 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).

In S06E07: "Full Meta Jackrick," the duo crashed through the fourth wall 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 S07E06: "Rickfending Your Mort" took it one step further in a very disturbing way. 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 an appearance in a third film would not be 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!"

Rick and Morty S08E07: "Ricker than Fiction" Random Thoughts

While we can easily see them as toxic fans, Rick and Morty make some valid points about "RoboTrees" (although Jerry seems to enjoy it).

WE HAVE JAMES GUNN, PEOPLE! After teleporting to Gunn's office (and do some damage to his desk), Rick and Morty rip into Gunn for what he did to the franchise. Gunn counters that they don't know how difficult it is to make films that work and how it would take a miracle to make a franchise film that makes fans happy.

Yeah, it's looking like fans are getting called out in this one, as Rick and Morty find themselves sucked into the world of the RoboTrees by the "movie-lyzer."

Okay, I'm all about how they're "living" the movie script and Jerry's monitoring how their suffering if making things with the film better.

WHAT?!? WE'VE GOT ZACK SNYDER AND JAMES GUNN?!?!? I'm loving that Snyder gave Gunn "notes" on Superman needing to punch more and talk less. We also learned that Rick wasn't a fan on Interstellar and Christopher Nolan paid for it.

Snyder (to Gunn): "Just saw your new cut of 'Superman.' Word of advice, he's the 'Man of Steel,' not the 'Man of Conversation.' Do more shots of him punching!"

Wow, Rick and Morty are actually doing a great job – and developing a better appreciation for the RoboTree characters. Meanwhile… JAMES GUNN IS THE EPISODE'S BIG BAD?!?!

Gunn's trying to tempt Jerry with a two-picture deal for his dinosaur book – nice callback.

Jerry wouldn't be seduced by Gunn, and kicked his ass for good measure. And now, he has to write an Adderall-fueled ending to save Rick and Morty.

I think I might want a "RoboTrees" spinoff now…

"The outdone 'The Gunn'": Gunn's teaser brought back Rick and Morty

HOLY CRAP! JAMES GUNN GOT KILLED TRYING TO SAVE HOLLYWOOD?!?! Wow… very "X-Files."

Gunn (to "Mr. Brothers"): "They cracked the code! This won't just put butts in seats and sell popcorn, it could give people hope! It could save Hollywood, it could change everything."

Good question – why was the gun called a "sundae"?

Of course, a "Space Jam" joke during the end credits just seems to fit (though we didn't see the "raptor porn" coming).

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

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