By Tyler Stepanian

The co-creator and star of the hit animated television series Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland, has been charged with a felony domestic violence charge, resulting in the nighttime comedy channel Adult Swim cutting ties with him. This comes after Roiland was found to have been the perpetrator of a 2020 incident of domestic violence, according to a criminal complaint from May 2020 that stated that there was an incident against an anonymous Jane Doe who was involved with Roiland at the time. However, the details of the complaint are “currently being withheld from the public under a protective order,” according to NBC News. This abrupt cutting of ties with Roiland comes in the middle of a 70-episode order for the show, leaving many fans wondering what will happen to the show and who will voice the main characters in the future. 

Justin Roiland at the 2017 Raleigh Supercon. Photo credit: Super Festivals via Wikimedia Commons.

Roiland was born in Stockton, California, where he grew up on an almond orchard with his younger sister, Amy. Along with being the co-creator and voice of the title characters, Rick and Morty, Roiland is also famous for his involvement with many other animated shows, including the voice of Blendin Blandin on the Disney channel show Gravity Falls and Earl of Lemongrad on the show Adventure Time. He is also the founder of the animation studio Justin Roiland’s Solo Vanity Card Productions! and the video game studio Squanch Games. 

Despite Roiland’s involvement in other shows, Rick and Morty is by far his most successful project, because it spawned “a billion-dollar media and merchandising franchise,” according to NBC News. As summarized on IMDB, Rick and Morty is “an animated series that follows the exploits of a super scientist and his not-so-bright grandson.” This alone makes the show sound interesting, but its dark and absurd humor and complex characters and dimensions throughout the show makes the series a hit with critics and fans, earning it an overall score 9.1/10 on IMDB’s rating scale.

Naturally, many wonder what Rick and Morty’s future will look like without Roiland. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Sources say that the show is set to continue, with only Roiland’s voice roles to be recast.” A fan of the show, Eli Petty (‘23) says that splitting with Roiland is “the right move, but I’m worried that show won’t be the same in the future, because the voices of Rick and Morty are so iconic that it will be hard to find a replacement that can not only do the voices but also give the same style [as Roiland].” The show is scheduled to have at least three more seasons, making the need for a replacement much greater. When asked if he will keep watching the show, Petty simply stated, “Maybe, but I want to see who they hire first.”

Fan art depiction of Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty, one of the main characters Justin Roiland voices. Image credit: PsyCat Games.

This is not the first time a famous animated show has had to look for a replacement voice actor for one of their main roles. In the summer of 2020, the long-running popular animated adult show Family Guy underwent changes of its own when Mike Henry (‘84), the voice actor for Cleveland Brown and many other characters, stepped down after 20 years because he felt that “persons of color should play characters of color.” After a few months of searching, FOX was able to find a replacement with Arif Zahir, “a popular YouTuber known for his impressions of iconic characters, who was hired to take over the role for season 20.”

This hiring by FOX allowed them to continue making the iconic show and keep the fan-favorite character, thus giving hope to fans of Rick and Morty of what the future of the show may look like. 

Featured image credit: David Dean via Twitter.