Rick and Morty Season 7 introduced new voice actors taking over roles previously played by Justin Roiland, and the response from fans was predictably contentious. This season, Ian Cardoni is playing Rick Sanchez while Harry Belden is playing Morty Smith, and in this episode, John Allen is playing Mr. Poopybutthole as well. For better or worse, some fans say the show just won’t feel the same without Roiland.
Rick and Morty Season 7 has been in the works for a long time, but it hit a stumbling block earlier this year when Adult Swim fired series star and co-creator Justin Roiland. Roiland was charged with felony domestic violence, and while the charges were ultimately dropped, other allegations made against him led the network to sever all ties with him. The producers of Rick and Morty did their best to re-cast his many roles on the show with “sound-alikes,” but understandably, fans can hear the difference. On Sunday, Oct. 16, fans saw their first full episode with the new voices when Season 7 premiered.
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It’s notable that Cardoni, Belden and Allen are all just doing their best to imitate the voices that Roiland did for these characters up until now, which means that viewers will be prime to compare the two performances and decide which one is “better.” Roiland’s other show, Solar Opposites, took a different approach by giving Roiland’s character a completely different voice, sparing the replacement actor from direct comparison in that way.
Rick and Morty Season 7 will air every Sunday at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim for the next nine weeks, and hopefully fans will get used to these new voices. In the meantime, here is the initial reaction to the new voice actors for Rick and Morty.
‘Ruined’
Some fans proclaimed that the series is simply “ruined” from here on out. They didn’t expect they’d get passed this recasting.
It’s Back
Rick and Morty is infamous for long breaks between seasons, so some fans were simply glad that the show is back in a timely fashion. The re-casting could easily have caused a longer delay.
‘End It’
Some fans said that it would have been better to end the show than to continue without Roiland. The series has already been renewed through Season 10.
Roiland Credits
Some fans noted that Justin Roiland is still listed as an executive producer in the credits of this episode, but that is likely because of all the work that was already done on Season 7 before he was fired.
Range
Some fans withheld judgement on the voices so far, saying they needed to hear a wider range of emotion to decide if they were bothered.
Wouldn’t Have Noticed
Some fans said that the new actors were so convincing, they might not have noticed the re-casting if they hadn’t read about it online.
Hugh Jackman’s Review
Finally, for some fans, only one review of the new episode matters – the response from Hugh Jackman. Jackman actually voiced himself in this episode, so there is clearly no bad blood here. Rick and Morty Season 7 continues this Sunday at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.
