Ever since Justin Roiland was fired from Rick & Morty early into 2023, fans of the Adult Swim animated series have waited to hear how the replacements for the title roles will sound. Well, the wait finally ended Monday with the release of the Rick & Morty Season 7 trailer, and yet, we still don’t actually know who is now voicing the mad scientist and his hapless grandson. Now an Adult Swim insider has explained why such secrecy is in effect.
As you’ll see in the below statement to THR, it was clarified that two different are now voicing Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, as opposed to another actor being hired to handle both characters like Roiland did for six seasons, among many other roles. As for why the identities of these actors are being kept under wraps, this unnamed individual shared:
We want the show to speak for itself. We believe in the strength of the season and our new voices and we want to preserve the viewing experience for fans.
Given that Rick & Morty Season 7 premieres in mid-October, fans won’t have too wait too much longer to learn who these actors are, but the powers-that-be at Adult Swim are insistent that this new aspect of the show not be divulged ahead of time. They want the public to judge these new voices based purely on their merit without knowing any addition information. As our own Mick Joest pointed out, while the new Morty is practically indistinguishable from the old Morty, there is a slightly noticeable different between the new Rick and old Rick, so it’ll be interesting to hear how the two actors sound speaking normally once we know who they are.
The debut of these Rick & Morty voices follows a few months after Solar Opposites debuted Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens as the replacement for Roiland’s character Korvo. In that instance though, the animated series available to Hulu subscribers leaned into Stevens’ British accent rather than have him mimic the way Roiland delivered his lines. It was also revealed earlier this month that Jinkx Monsoon has taken over Roiland’s role of Lemongrab for Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, but it still hasn’t been revealed who’s replacing him as Chad Wagon on Hulu’s Koala Man.
Justin Roiland was let go from Rick & Morty and various other shows after facing charges of domestic violence, although the court case against him was ultimately dismissed in March. Although its news leads stars are shrouded in secrecy, Season 7 will still include the vocal talents of Sarah Chalke, Chris Parnell and Spencer Grammer. Dan Harmon, who co-created Rick & Morty with Roiland, remains as the sole showrunner.
Rick & Morty Season 7 premieres Sunday, October 15 at 11 pm ET, and you can stream the previous six seasons either on Hulu or with a Max subscription. If you’re curious about what other shows are debuting or returning soon, the 2023 TV schedule is packed with that information.