Rick and Morty held a San Diego Comic-Con panel Friday, where the Adult Swim show’s team gave an update on the casting process following Justin Roiland’s exit in light of felony domestic abuse charges that have since been dismissed.
“We are closing in on the end of our process of the recast,” said executive producer Steve Levy. He paused for a moment, as if struggling with how to proceed, before adding: “It’s going to be great. I’m impressed with everything that’s going on, including all the work on season seven.” Since the series premiered on 2013, Roiland co-wrote the series with Dan Harmon and voiced inventor Rick Sanchez and his teenage grandson, Morty.
Levy said he doesn’t want the recast discussion to distract from the work the rest of the team is doing for the upcoming seventh season, which has yet to set a premiere date. “The show is as good as ever,” Levy said.
Later, a fan asked if the new voice would be similar to Roiland’s version. “Sounds like it,” Levy clarified. “The characters are the same characters – no changes.”
In January, Adult Swim announced in a statement that it had “terminated its partnership with Justin Roiland” following news that the Rick and Morty co-creator had been charged with felony domestic violence in Orange County, California.
The show got a episode order at and is locked for the entire season. Roiland will retain his co-creator role, while Scott Muder will serve as showrunner. Harmon did not participate in a panel discussion Friday during the writers’ strike, a labor dispute that prevented Writers Guild members from promoting projects at Comic-Con. The actors’ strike has also kept stars away.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges against Roilan in March , a news Roiland tweeted at the time as “justice.”
