Adult Swim has confirmed that Rick & Morty will be returning for its seventh season later this year, and co-creator Justin Roiland won’t be a part of it.
During France’s Annecy International Festival, Cartoon Network president Michael Ouweleen and executive producer Steve Levy briefly touched on the upcoming season. This’ll be the first season to air following Roiland’s firing in the wake of his domestic abuse allegations, and though the charges were later dismissed, his role as the titular duo (and various side characters) will still be recast. So far, it’s the only Roiland project that’s publicly confirmed it’ll be replacing the actor — a recently revealed expansion for Squanch Games’ High on Life made no mention of him, and Hulu shows Solar Opposites and Koala Man have been mum since they dropped him after those allegations.
Levy acknowledged that the team is currently searching for a suitable voice actor, saying he “[doesn’t] think anyone will bat an eyelid hearing the new voices.” Ouweleen backed up that sentiment, comparing it to how different people have voiced Bugs Bunny over the decades. “It’s a rather unique situation,” he said. “I love what Jeff Bennett has done with [Bugs]. But it’s not Mel Blanc! And yet we recognise the character.”
As far as when we’ll hear the new voices for Rick and Morty, that will be within the next few months. When asked about season seven’s air date, Ouweleen answered “it will be this year. We try to keep roughly the same dates every year.” Though previous seasons have started as early as April and as late as December, season six begun in early September. If the plan is to keep to “roughly” the same air date, then the show may return sometime towards mid or late September. Regardless of who ends up getting the role, Adult Swim’s still committed to the larger franchise, as it has an anime project coming at some point this year, and still has to complete the 70-episode order given back in 2018.
[via CinemaBlend]
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.