The official trailer for Rick and Morty Season 7 is here, giving fans a chance to hear the new voice actor(s) taking over the voices of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith. For now, fans can only judge by the sound as the identity (identities?) of the actor(s) has not been revealed yet. Still, if you were worried about being distracted by a noticeable difference, this will likely make you feel better.
The new trailer picks up with a healthy mixture of Rick’s irreverent hijinks and plot-heavy teasers as Rick and Morty resume the hunt for “Rick Prime.” Visually, the trailer promises a lot of action โ from pop culture send-ups and self-referential callbacks to jarring new creatures and alien skylines. At the same time, we see Rick bragging about his “famous spaghetti” and trying to get Morty’s attention by turning himself into a leg โ “a leg, Morty!”
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The new voices are not exactly perfect matches for Justin Roiland โ perhaps due in part to the fact that most viewers know the change is coming. Roiland was the co-creator of Rick and Morty and its star, providing the voices of Rick, Morty and many side characters. Some were obvious one-offs but some have returned many times. If characters like Mr. Poopybutthole and Mr. Meeseeks show up again in Season 7, they will need to be recast as well.
That seems highly likely judging by the Season 7 episode titles, released by Adult Swim a few weeks ago. The season premiere is titled “How Poopy Got His Poop Back,” hinting that Mr. Poopybutthole will be there to greet us. Fans also noted the title of Episode 8, “Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie.” That seemed to tease the return of Ice-T, who can be seen in one frantic shot of the trailer.
Roiland was fired from the show by Adult Swim earlier this year when it was revealed that he was charged with felony domestic violence. Those charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence, but by then social media had filled with other allegations against Roiland, including an unflattering portrait of his workplace behavior in an expose by The Hollywood Reporter. Roiland’s Hulu show, Solar Opposites, dealt with the recast as a joke โ casting an entirely different voice actor for his character and explaining it away with a sci-fi punchline.
Rick and Morty always intended to do things more seamlessly. At San Diego Comic-Con, executive Producer Steve Levy told fans that they had cast “sound-alikes” for Roiland’s characters and they hoped to go on without missing a beat. Some fans may still grumble about the change, but others were glad to hear that things could continue smoothly. Rick and Morty is still only 30 episodes into a 70-episode order from Adult Swim, so the show is likely to go on through at least Season 10.
The next batch of episodes is just a few weeks away now. Rick and Morty Season 7 premieres on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.