According to insiders, “Rick and Morty” will continue, with Roiland’s vocal roles being recast.
After reports that the co-creator of Rick and Morty had been charged with felony domestic violence in Orange County, Adult Swim broke off their relationship with Justin Roiland.
In a statement on Tuesday, Marie Moore, Adult Swim’s senior VP of communications, said that “Adult Swim has terminated its partnership with Justin Roiland.”
The popular adult animated sitcom Rick and Morty, which Roiland executive produced, co-created and for which he voiced both the titular Rick and Morty, is distributed by Adult Swim. The show, one of the channel’s most well-known productions, was commissioned by Adult Swim in 2018 with a hefty 70-episode order. The Hollywood Reporter noted on Jan. 17.
According to sources, Roiland’s vocal roles in Rick and Morty will be recast. Even though Dan Harmon, another co-creator, will now be the sole showrunner, Roiland will always get credit as co-creator. The program has a contract through season 10.
Roiland is still working on several projects with Hulu, including co-creating the streaming service Solar Opposites, lending his voice to a major role (the show was renewed for a fifth season in October). Roiland provides the voices for the platform’s Koala Man, which debuted on Jan. 9. She also serves as an executive producer. Roiland remains under contract with 20th Television Animation, the company that makes Solar Opposites and Koala Man.
Roiland was charged with one count of domestic violence involving bodily harm and one count of false imprisonment by threat, force, fraud or deceit in Orange County on January 12; the allegations stem from an alleged incident involving an unnamed Jane Doe whom Roiland was dating at the time. NBC News was the first to report the newss. In 2020, Roiland was released on $50,000 bail after entering a not guilty plea. Roiland has previously appeared in several pretrial sessions and will do so again on April 27.
T. Edward Welbourn, Roiland’s attorney, stated earlier this month that media coverage of the case was “inaccurate.”
Welbourn added: “To be clear, Justin is not only innocent, but we also expect this case to be dismissed once the district attorney’s office has completed its methodical review of the evidence.”
