Earlier this month, Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland was charged with felony domestic battery and false imprisonment for an incident regarding an ex-girlfriend that occurred back in 2020. Rick and Morty notably airs on Adult Swim, a segment of Cartoon Network. Today, via THR, Adult Swim has announced an end to its association with Justin Roiland over Rick and Morty. Social media for Rick and Morty has also announced the end of Adult Swim’s involvement with Justin Roiland, while assuring that the “talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7.”
Adult Swim / Cartoon Network / Boomerang SVP of communications Marie Moore offered an even more succinct statement: “Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland.”
— Rick and Morty (@RickandMorty) January 24, 2023
Justin Roiland was not only the co-creator of Rick and Morty but the voices of the titular characters, so these voices will inevitably be recast now. However, he does not seem to have written or directed on the series since season 3, so his departure from the show may not have an especially dramatic effect on the production of the series. In any case, many more episodes of the series are still coming to Adult Swim as a result of a 70-episode commission agreed upon back in 2018.
So, while this is the end of the association between Adult Swim and Justin Roiland, Rick and Morty will continue full steam ahead. It seems pretty certain that Roiland will continue to profit handsomely from the show too, though exact details of this split are not yet available. It also remains to be seen if the negative attention surrounding Roiland will have any effect on his game studio, Squanch Games, which released High on Life last month. [Update: Roiland has resigned from Squanch.]
Related: Is Rick and Morty Canceled and is Justin Roiland Leaving Rick and Morty on The Mary Sue
