Rick and Morty Season 8 is taking a little longer to arrive than we thought, but at least the 2025 TV schedule is just around the corner. We knew previously that the Adult Swim series would return in the new year, but without the knowledge that it would seemingly break the fourth wall to address the elephant in the room. Based on this new clip, the animated comedy will indeed reference the casting drama surrounding Justin Roiland’s firing, and I’m so excited to see more of this.
After the comedy series was forced to recast Rick, Morty, and many other Roiland-voiced characters on the show for the seventh season, Season 8 will hilariously feature Rick holding auditions to replace Jerry, which I’m sure will go really well. Check out the clip below!
Rick and Morty returns in 2025. Jerry included. Check the link in our bio for where to watch #AdultSwim in your country. #rickandmorty #adultswimeurope #christmas pic.twitter.com/8HhB0OIbHyDecember 7, 2024
The irony of Rick judging the voice quality of various Jerry replacements is not lost on me, and I think the Rick and Morty writers knew exactly what they were doing with this scene. It’s hilarious to think about Rick pushing Jerry out of the family and replacing him, and maybe we’re in for some deep commentary from the team about the behind-the-scenes drama.
While I found myself forgetting about the change early into Rick and Morty Season 7, I definitely saw comments from others who felt the show shouldn’t have released Justin Roiland to begin with. Despite the troubling legal woes he faced at the time tied to sexual misconduct and other charges, many questioned if removing him would negatively impact the series.
The case against Roiland was ultimately dismissed, and the former co-creator spoke out about clearing his name. By that time, however, reports had surfaced speaking to how much of a disruption he had become to Rick and Morty, and it was suggested very little of the show’s driving success was due to his contributions. Roiland has not returned to the series, and has since maintained a low profile in Hollywood.
To be clear, I don’t think Rick and Morty would do anything to make light of any accusations against Justin Roiland or the legal issues that came out of that. I would imagine it would be a wink at the audience tied entirely to sound differences, noting that they’re just as aware that there was a lot of stress in finding new voice actors for the beloved characters.
I also want to note that while Rick is hosting open auditions, I don’t think this is a tease that Chris Parnell will be let go as the voice of Jerry Smith. While the American voice acting cast was replaced for the anime, I wouldn’t have any reason to expect this show to see another major casting shakeup anytime soon. Then again, I never imagined the series would suddenly lose its co-creator, so we can only wait and see what the future holds.
2025 is just around the corner, and that’s when we’ll see Rick and Morty back on Adult Swim. Hopefully, we’ll get more details in the new year as to exactly when that will happen and see more of whatever is happening in the above clip.
