After six seasons successful seasons of Rick and Morty, Adult Swim announced that the show will receive a seventh season. However, the company also announced that the show will continue without Justin Roiland and has cut ties with the show’s creator. This comes after he faced domestic abuse allegations and DMs containing vile messages towards women were leaked.
Adult Swim stated that the show can still continue without Roiland and that it believes in the talents of the show’s team. But even if Roiland is no longer involved in the show, could he still earn royalties? After all, it is his show and it has his name in the title sequence.
Will Justin Roiland still get royalties for future seasons of Rick and Morty?
Before this news came out, there was chatter amongst Rick and Morty fans as to whether or not they should still support the show due to Roiland’s recent allegations. Adult Swim’s announcement should reassure fans who lost respect for the show’s creator that they can still watch it without worrying about Roiland’s involvement. But just because he isn’t involved doesn’t entirely mean he doesn’t earn a cut.
According to the TV Writers Vault, it all depends on the deal between Roiland and Adult Swim. Roiland could have received a one-off fee or had an episodic deal where he earns a certain percentage of the show’s budget. Unfortunately, the show’s budget is currently unknown so we don’t know how much Roiland was paid and it’s more likely that he will be.
Another thing to note is that Roiland isn’t just the show’s creator. He’s also the official voice actor of the show’s main characters, Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith. And while it is more likely that their voices will be replaced for season seven, it’s unlikely that they’re going to redub six seasons. If there is anything we learned from the Bayonetta 3 drama, it’s that voice actors are often paid a flat fee for their time in the studio, and according to the Voice Realm, they could be paid royalties for their past work. All of this also depends on the deal between the actor and the network.
One thing to note is that Rick and Morty is still a Justin Roiland show. He created it, therefore Adult Swim will have to pay him to keep it on the air. It’s more likely that a simple flat fee was offered in order to keep the show running. But unless more details about Roiland’s deal with the network are revealed, it will be unknown if he would receive extra payments for his existing work.
