Rick and Morty’s Risky Roiland Recasting Decision Was Right After All

While Rick and Morty season 7’s plan to recast Justin Roiland’s roles with soundalike voice actors may have seemed foolhardy, the show’s newest trailer proves that this gambit was an ingenious creative decision. Rick and Morty’s title characters have been voiced by Justin Roiland since the series began. However, Roiland was accused of domestic battery and inappropriate behavior by numerous women in January 2023, prompting Adult Swim to cut ties with the actor. Since then, the question of who would replace Roiland as the voice of Rick and Morty’s two main characters has been contentious. Surprisingly the show’s creators opted to cast soundalikes in the roles.

As Rick and Morty season 7’s release date approached, it became clear that the creators of the series weren’t secretly planning on recasting the characters with famous actors. Another show that starred Roiland in a major role, Solar Opposites, replaced the actor with Dan Stevens and immediately announced this in the first promo for its fourth season. In contrast, Rick and Morty season 7’s early promos only featured supporting characters like Summer and Beth or included no dialogue at all, such as the show’s new opening credits or episode title reveal. Now, Rick and Morty season 7’s trailer has finally introduced their new voices.

Related: Rick & Morty Season 7 Cast Guide – All Returning & Recast Voice Actors

Rick And Morty’s New Voices Sound (Almost) The Same

Replacing the show’s heroes with soundalikes seemed like a risky plan, but the Rick and Morty season 7 trailer proves that this was a great idea. While they’re not perfect dupes, the new voices are certainly close enough to work. Already, Rick and Morty season 7’s episode titles made it clear that the series would be diverging from its usual formula with outings focused on Mr. Poopybutthole and Rick’s therapist Dr. Wong. Thus, the fact that Rick and Morty’s voices have undergone a relatively minor change isn’t any more distracting than the show’s decision to focus on these supporting stars or bring back characters like Gearhead and Birdperson.

An earlier promo for Rick and Morty season 7 saw Summer sarcastically promise that Morty might finally date Jessica this season, a gag that showed how much the series had changed in the years since its early seasons. In seasons 1 and 2, Justin Roiland still had a hand in the writing of the show, and Rick and Morty’s comedy was a lot less focused on character growth. Rick and Morty season 7’s promised character return threatened to be a step backward for the series if the show retreated into familiar plots to smooth over Roiland’s exit. However, Rick and Morty season 7’s trailer proves this isn’t necessary.

Rick And Morty’s Roiland Replacement Has A Secret Weapon

Rick and Morty’s voices don’t sound any more different in the season 7 trailer than they did between season 1 and season 6. A look back on earlier seasons proves that Justin Roiland’s version of their voices changed significantly between the first episodes and the most recent outings, so there is room for the new voice actors to experiment a little as the series returns. Rick and Morty’s voices don’t sound exactly the same anymore, but they never sounded all that consistent in the first place. Thus, it is a good thing Rick and Morty season 7 focuses on zombies, Rick’s spaghetti, and assorted misadventures over justifying Roiland’s replacement.