Our first look at ‘Rick and Morty’ without Justin Roiland could be coming next week

The time has officially come for a new era of Rick and Morty. The wildly popular Adult Swim series satirizing Back to the Future made it six seasons without controversy until the news about co-creator Justin Roiland broke. Another blow to an industry already filled with toxicity, the writer — and the voice of the titular characters — was exposed for domestic violence allegations as well as his reprehensible actions in the writers’ room. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s exposé, when Roiland deigned to show up to work, he harassed everyone in the room. Adult Swim was quick to cut ties with the creative, but that left the obvious question of how the show would move on from there.

Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith’s voices are a trademark of the series and would be difficult to replace. But as Roiland’s other series Solar Opposites cast Legion’s Dan Stevens to replace him, so too will Rick and Morty. And now with a new teaser for season 7, fans will soon see what the animated series has come up with. 

In a teaser featuring a rendition of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet With the Butterfly Wings,” the season will set up an epic battle between Rick and Rick Prime. Looking to be just as gut-punching as any season, the teaser announces that a premiere date for the series will drop next week. But will that be the only thing on tap in the coming days?

More Rick and Morty content could be on the horizon

More than likely, next week will not just drop the release date of Rick and Morty season 7. If there is anything that fans have been waiting for, it is footage confirming how Roiland’s departure from the series will be handled. Pairing the release date with an official trailer for the show would be the perfect time to address this information.

In the video teasing a release date, the post has dutifully left Roiland out of the conversation. Talking about previous scorched earth for the series won’t exactly bring in viewers. But there is no denying that the life of the Adult Swim show all hangs in the balance with this new season. The public dismissal of Roiland is one thing, but there is also the added pressure of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Shows have lost momentum for less, and if fans are less than satisfied with what they see, the strike could effectively kill the show going forward. Rick and Morty could conceivably go from having highly anticipated seasons only once every few years to ending for good because of the recent state of the industry. Now is the best time to assure fans that the show can — and must — go on. One person shouldn’t make or break a series, especially when they were fired for completely justified reasons.