While Rick and Morty season 7 will likely struggle with Justin Roiland’s recasting, numerous earlier episodes of the series prove that the show can go on without him. Rick and Morty co-creator/voice actor Justin Roiland was charged with domestic battery in January 2023. Shortly after the charges against him came to light, Adult Swim severed ties with the actor. Even though Roiland voiced both Rick and Morty in the preceding six seasons of Rick and Morty, Adult Swim announced that production would continue on season 7. At San Diego Comic-Con 2023, executive producer Steven Levy confirmed that “soundalikes” would be used to replace Roiland’s roles.
This was a major surprise. Solar Opposites season 4 recast Roiland’s Korvo with Dan Stevens in the cold open of the season premiere, and animated shows have been known to recast voice actors often over the decades. However, this seemed more likely to prove a problem for Rick and Morty season 7. As the title implies, Rick and Morty focuses heavily on its main characters. Unlike many animated family sitcoms, the show doesn’t often stage episodes wherein the rest of the Smith family or the supporting characters of the series get an entire episode to themselves. The Smith family have all gotten compelling subplots, but few lead roles.
Rick & Morty Season 7 Should Focus On The Smith Family (These Episodes Prove It)
Luckily, the series can adjust its outlook before the show returns. Already, Rick and Morty seasons 5 and 6 both proved that the show doesn’t need to laser focus on the eponymous pairing to get reliable laughs. Building on episodes like season 5, episode 7, ”Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion,” and season 6, episode 4, “Night Family,” season 7 can prove that the rest of the Smith family are as dramatically compelling and potentially just as funny as Rick and Morty themselves. This would not only expand the show’s focus, but it would also draw attention away from the absence of Roiland.
Replacing Roiland with soundalikes in Rick and Morty season 7 is a risky proposition. If the characters don’t perfectly match their predecessor, they will almost certainly end up sounding like an imitation. However, ”Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion,” “Night Family,” and even season 5, episode 2, “Mortyplicity,” all gained most of their biggest laughs from Jerry, Beth, and Summer. Not only that, but outings like season 6, episode 3, “Bethic Twinstinct,” proved that Beth and Jerry’s relationship is more dramatically intriguing than the over-familiar “tortured genius and naive sidekick” dynamic between Rick and Morty. Thus, the show should have explored these characters further even if Roiland hadn’t been fired.
Family-Centric Episodes Would Work After Rick & Morty Season 7’s Recasting
Since the show relies less on its titular duo and their well-worn dynamic during family-centric episodes, Rick and Morty season 7’s recasting is the perfect excuse for the show to change its narrative priorities. Episodes that focus on Summer, Beth, and Jerry could ease the show’s reliance on Roiland’s characters and thus make the transition to their new voice actors less noticeable. Solar Opposites season 4’s Jesse focus achieved exactly this as the animated sci-fi comedy fleshed out a familiar supporting star in a way that felt earned, but also subtly pulled focus away from Korvo’s recasting.
When Summer joined Rick and Morty on an adventure in season 4, episode 7, “Promortyus,” she proved more than able to keep up with the duo, and the episode’s story was enlivened by her presence. Similarly, season 5, episode 5, “Amortycan Grickfitti,” deepened Jerry and Rick’s relationship by focusing on the unlikely pairing and proving that Rick didn’t resent his son-in-law as much as he claimed. Rather than drawing attention to Roiland’s absence by relying on the show’s two recast title characters, season 7 needs more of this energy as Rick and Morty moves into exploring the Smith family’s internal lives more consistently.
Why Rick & Morty Season 7 May Have To Focus On Rick & Morty After All
While it would be great to see the series loosen the focus on its original heroes, Rick and Morty season 7’s villains could prove a problem in this regard. The show’s main antagonists Evil Morty and Rick Prime are closely connected to Rick and Morty, so the creators may want to focus on the original heroes to continue these plots. Since Rick Prime is an even more cynical, amoral version of Rick, his plot only makes sense if Rick is still the show’s moral center and main focus. Similarly, the entire appeal of Evil Morty was rooted in the show exploring Morty’s more ambitious, smarter side.
Morty has come to terms with the fact that he’ll never outwit his grandfather over the years, but the character has also proven that some things matter more than intelligence. Evil Morty is proof that Morty increasing his intelligence alone wouldn’t make him a better person, much like Rick and Morty‘s best anime reference proved that increasing his power would just turn him into a murderous Akira knock-off. Thus, Evil Morty is only a compelling presence when paired with Morty, much like Rick Prime would be a boring villain without Rick. As such, Rick and Morty season 7 may struggle to change its character focus.
