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Welcome back, Rick & Morty fans! Although so far this season, there seems to be a growing lack of the “and Morty” aspect of the show. In an episode all about growth, Dan is diving in to look closer at what this development means for the character of Morty and the show moving forward.

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! Or should we say Rick and Jerry fans? This week’s episode saw the father and son-in-law duo set off on an existential buddy comedy/body horror adventure where the very concept of self is brought to question. Dan takes a closer look at this body swap gone wrong on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Welcome back, Rick & Morty fans! The seventh season kicked off with new voice actors, returning fan favorite characters, and plenty of unfinished business. Dan Casey jumps through a portal to break down this coming of middle-age adventure on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Rick and Morty‘s season seven premiere marked a new era of the show. It was the first time co-creator Justin Roiland did not voice any characters, including the two titular characters. Adult Swim fired Roiland earlier this year after serious allegations. That included now-dismissed legal charges and other accusations of impropriety. Despite everyone knowing about the upcoming recasting, though, Adult Swim didn’t announce who was stepping into the roles of Rick and Morty until the seventh season actually debuted. Now Rick and Morty has revealed its new lead voice actors. Ian Cardoni is the new voice of Rick, and Harry Belden is playing Morty. But how did the two actors get these coveted parts in Rick and Morty? It took half a year and thousands of candidates to find two actors who sound like the characters we’ve always known.

Animation’s biggest secret is out of the squanch so Rick and Morty is pulling back the curtain on how it replaced, well, Rick and Morty. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co-creator Dan Harmon and showrunner Scott Marder said the series ultimately heard thousands of possible replacements over a six-month process. They were looking for two actors instead of just one. That was in part to help preserve each performer’s vocals. They said doing both voices took a toll on Roiland, and it was unfair to do to anyone else. Harmon also said hiring two new people to play Rick and Morty was less disruptive than finding one person to replace both roles, and the show was very much focused on making the change as seamless as possible. That’s why they always wanted to recreate Rick and Morty’s voices rather than change them in any way.

They thought recasting would be easy, but it was anything but. While many people could do exact imitations of the characters in small doses, they couldn’t maintain the voices in conversation. The “exhaustive” search ultimately led them to pick Cardoni as the new voice of Rick. He’d been part of the “first wave” of auditions. Belden came along much later, but both underwent a grueling process that whittled thousands down to the hundreds.

(John Allen replaced Roiland as Mr. Poopybutthole in the premiere. Harmon and Marder didn’t want their new stars to have to deal with also learning another part, though they might do more voices in the future.)

Harmon only got involved in the recasting near the end. He wanted to spare himself from the emotional process of trying to match the voices to their previous iterations. He then listened to potential replacements without knowing who anyone was. When Harmon finally did meet his young new Rick and Morty actors he found their ages shocking, considering they have a big task on a very popular show with some very passionate fans. (Understatement intentional.)

Harmon and Marder think their eager and enthusiastic new actors are why the show could run “30 more years” now. They say their new Rick and Morty have brought a fresh energy to the series. And with time they’ll only get more comfortable in the parts, which will include at least two more seasons. Harmon said they’re already writing season nine. Season nine!

For a show that used to take two years between seasons, that might be the most surprising news. Finding a new Rick and Morty was hard. But getting a new season in a timely fashion once seemed impossible.

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Rick and Morty are heading out for more twisted, odd, and overall confounding yet entertaining adventures in various universes. This ongoing saga about a sociopathic genius scientist, his oft-skittish grandson, and the rest of their weird family is in its seventh season. A new Rick and Morty season seven trailer proves that there are still many stories to tell and questions to answer. We really wanna know what is going on with evil Summer.

Rick is back and he’s not a pickle this time. Instead, he shows an unimpressed and probably exhausted Morty that he’s a leg. It’s the start of what is a chaotic collection of clips. Rick shoots a zombie in a graveyard and fake attends therapy. A society unsurprisingly collapses far quicker than it should, thanks to Rick and Morty existing. Perhaps the most exciting part of this is the return of Water-T. Of course, the person behind this voice is actor/rapper Ice-T. It is the one thing in life that makes sense.

We also get a few fun nods to movies like Air Force One and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This reflect the season’s very fun episode titles that pay homage to well-known movies from several genres. Who ever thought Rick and Morty would tip its hat at How Stella Got Her Groove Back? It’s shocking but we have seen some seriously strange stuff on this show. I dare say that the Rick and Morty season seven trailer is very on brand for this franchise, indeed. Rick is gonna Rick and Morty is gonna Morty.

What Is the Release Date for Rick and Morty Season Seven?

Rick and Morty’s seventh season is coming on October 15 at 11PM PT/ET on Adult Swim. The season will head to streaming sometime in 2024.

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Rick and Morty‘s seventh season will feature new voice actors in the two lead roles. One that isn’t changing about Rick and Morty, though, are the show’s ridiculous episode titles that actually tell us quite a lot about what happens in them. Adult Swim has released the official names for all ten episodes we’ll see when the animated series returns in October. This batch of overly silly, heavy-handed puns promise lots of love, heartache, and religious entanglements. But the most exciting Rick and Morty season seven episode title of all indicates we’ll finally see more of Ice T’s Numbericon, Water T.

The boys will soon be back back in town the Central Finite Curve, and when they do, they’ll continue their interdimensional adventures that so often resemble famous movies. We know that thanks to the new batch of episode titles for Rick and Morty’s upcoming season. Here they are, along with what specific movie (or in one case song) we think they’re riffing on:

Rick and Morty Season Seven Episode Titles

1. “How Poopy Got His Poop Back” (How Stella Got Her Groove Back)
2. “The Jerrick Trap” (The Parent Trap)
3. “Air Force Wong” (Air Force One)
4. “That’s Amorte” (Dean Martin’s Classic Song “That’s Amore”)
5. “Unmortricken” (Unforgiven)
6. “Rickfending Your Mort” (Defending Your Life)
7. “Wet Kuat Amortican Summer” (Wet Hot American Summer)
8. Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and/or G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)
9. “Mort: Ragnarick” (Thor: Ragnarok)
10. “Fear No Mort” (Fear No Evil)

Starting off with a Mr. Poopybutthole episode followed by a Jerry-centered one is a killer beginning for Rick and Morty season seven. Neither character ever fails us. After that, the Rick and Morty season seven titles reveal we’re getting another President Curtis installment and a new chapter in Morty’s love life. Then comes two episodes based on iconic films. But while we expect the Unforgiven-inspired episode to take place in a mortal realm, same as the series’ Wet Hot American Summer-influenced entry, “Rickfending Your Love” looks like it will be part of a bigger season seven element.

Not only does that title suggest Rick might have to save either his or Morty’s mortal soul from damnation (or maybe even both), the tag for “Mort: Ragnarick” says “Heaven is for real.” And “Fear No Mort” is based on the 1981 horror film about Lucifer on Earth. That’s three out of ten Rick and Morty episode titles teasing major connections to Heaven and Hell.

As excited as we are by those possibilities, our favorite Rick and Morty season seven title goes to the eighth one. It teases the long-awaited return of a truly fantastic character, Ice T’s alien Numbericon. His heroic, tragic story led him to once again became his true form, Water T, in the amazing season two episode “Get Schwifty.”

He’s why we don’t care who goes to Hell this season. Seeing Water T again will be heavenly.

Rick and Morty season seven and its new freshly titled episodes debut on Adult Swim on October 15.

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How are you going to celebrate the return of Rick and Morty when the animated series’ seventh season debuts? Based on the first official new image from the hit show’s next year you might want to make lasagna. And based on when it will premiere you might also want to bust out your best Mr. Poopybutthole costume. Adult Swim has announced Rick and Morty will come back this fall in time for Halloween. However, instead of candy, Rick is serving Italian.

And yes, the network says he and his grandson will still sound like themselves when we meet them again.

In this universe, Rick and Morty‘s will be back on Sunday, October 15 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Adult Swim announced the premiere date with a new image from the upcoming seventh season. It features Rick holding a tray of food with a wild look in his eyes.

When the show returns, it will do so without co-creator and the original voice of the show’s titular stars, Justin Roiland. Adult Swim fired him earlier this year after serious allegations. (Note: Criminal charges against him have since been dropped, but those were not all of the allegations made against him at the time.)

The announcement tweet accompanied a poster depicting Rick, Morty, and Summer parodying the poster for the Michael Bay classic Bad Boys. Adult Swim’s press release about the premiere included a joke about what fans can expect to hear from the still-unnamed new voices of Rick and Morty. Producers have said they will be soundalikes. It also sounds like the show will be the same one we know and love. From Adult Swim:

Rick and Morty are back and sounding more like themselves than ever! It’s season seven, and the possibilities are endless: what’s up with Jerry? EVIL Summer?! And will they ever go back to the high school?! Maybe not! But let’s find out! There’s probably less piss than last season. “Rick and Morty,” 100 years! Or at least until season 10!

A previous promo for season seven also teased that Rick and his Rick archenemy will resume their feud.

We’re not sure just yet how we’re going to celebrate the show’s return. (Lasagna really is an excellent idea.) But we’re definitely not dressing up like that awful Rick. Even if he looks like our Rick, we promise that’s not what we’re doing.

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! The season six finale is here, and Dan’s breaking down all the shocking reveals, easter eggs, and everything else you might have missed in Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation on today’s Nerdist News!

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! In the penultimate episode of the season, “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” sees the duo on a sci-fantasy adventure filled with AI swords, subverted expectations, and plenty of easter eggs. Dan dives in to break down everything you might have missed on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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After battling an incessant amount of ‘90s style super villains, Rick finally attempts to confront his mightiest foe: therapy. Join Dan Casey on today’s Nerdist News as he breaks down Dr. Wong’s breakdown of why Rick attracts so many toxic characters.

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That’s a nice fourth wall you’ve got there! Sure would be a shame if someone…broke it. Rick and Morty did far more than break the fourth wall on their latest episode, “Full Meta Jackrick.” They deconstructed it brick by brick. Join Dan Casey on today’s Nerdist News as he breaks down all the meta mayhem and details you might have missed.

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After this week’s “JuRicksic Mort,” Rick and Morty‘s sixth season won’t return until November 20. This unexpected hiatus marks the first time ever we’re glad Adult Swim is making us wait for new episodes. It gives us an opportunity to talk about something not many viewers seemed to have noticed: Rick and Morty is following up its worst season with one of the show’s best ever.

I’m not alone in thinking Rick and Morty‘s fifth season—while far from horrible—was disappointing. Its overall viewer score at some cumulative ratings sites has the season ranked as the series’ lowest. By some measures season five also features the four worst episodes ever. Season five also ended with a lore-dump finale that doubled as a narrative temper tantrum about viewers obsessed with Rick’s past and Evil Morty. The writers took years of great potential stories and jammed everything into a single episode meant to silence a vocal minority at the expense of the entire fanbase.

Regardless of how you felt about season five’s quality and how it ended, one thing is clear: something changed before season six. I’ve covered Rick and Morty professionally for years and loved it as a fan just as long. And while ratings are still good, I have never seen less shared interest in the series than I have this year. Season six trailers generated only a fraction of the excitement of past promos. And while premiere dates always felt like special events rife with anticipation, season six’s felt like a formality. Just another debut in an overcrowded TV landscape.

Some of that undoubtedly falls on Adult Swim. We only got season six’s first trailer in August, a month before the show debuted on a night House of the Dragon and Sunday Night Football also call home. And Rick and Morty‘s big Wormageddon event wasn’t interesting enough to warrant the effort needed to follow it.

But the show hasn’t really needed any sort of promotion to generate excitement in a long time, either. This is a series that had followers losing their minds for a fast food dipping sauce. All anyone ever really needed to get excited for the show was the date it came back. Announce that and a deluge of viewers, coverage, and fan interest would naturally follow until well after the season ended. Rick and Morty has been like a proverbial perpetual motion machine. Once Adult Swim turned it on, the show generated an unlimited supply of energy to keep running on its own.

That clearly hasn’t been the case during season six. The conversation around the show is a fraction of what it typically is. A new Rick and Morty episode aired used to result in a million Rick and Morty-related tweets, posts, memes, and praise. All of which has been noticeably muted through season six’s first six episodes so far.

And that’s a shame because season six has been phenomenal. This year opened with a fantastic lore-heavy story that rewarded longtime viewers, then followed that up with a spot-on self-contained Die Hard parody that was also incredibly smart, hilarious, and unexpectedly emotional. Since then the show has also delivered the kind of totally absurd installments only Rick and Morty can get away with. And those have led to some of the funniest moments in show history.

The wonderfully awkward incestuous relationship of “Bethic Twinstinct” led to the incredible, never-ending scene of Jerry taunting them in their bedroom. (Which was then followed by Morty and Summer bawling their eyes out.) Then somehow the sci-fi comedy gave us a legitimate horror episode so good it reminded us of Jordan Peele’s movies. Next came an absolutely bonkers story of fate-creating fortune cookies revolving around Jerry possibly having sex with his mother. And this week we got the funniest dinosaur story since Jurassic Park III. (Only Rick and Morty‘s flip-flopped tale of supremely enlightened dinos was intentionally hilarious.)

Season six has been smart, funny, clever, original, touching, and totally absurd. That’s the full range of the Rick and Morty experience and everything we’ve always loved about the show. In years past we’d all be talking about why this season is one of our favorites and why the show might be TV’s best. So why aren’t we?

This season has been too good and too well-written to think it’s a quality issue. So maybe it’s simply been a perfect storm of bad timing and bad luck. Adult Swim’s big promotional push was both late and a dud. The show has also had the misfortune of going up against both an HBO juggernaut and the NFL. And it’s dealing with the fallout of a disappointing fifth season. Maybe it’s only natural that excitement is muted, no matter how good season six has been. But that’s why this brief hiatus is strangely a welcome one.

Rick and Morty, as we’ve always know it, is back. After a small bump it’s delivering the type of stories and comedy we’ve come to expect from it. We just hope by the time season six returns everyone else will want to talk about why it’s still one of television’s best.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! It’s Rick and Jerry this week as “Final DeSmithation” sees the duo face off against a secret meth ring operating out of a Panda Express in an episode filled with easter eggs, pop culture references, and even more incest. Dan dives in to break down everything you might have missed on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! Things get creepy for the Smith family in this week’s episode. “Night Family” is a horror-inspired plot full of deep callbacks, easter eggs, and rock-hard abs. Dan dives in to break down everything you might have missed on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Rick and Morty‘s “Night Family” wasn’t a one-for-one parody of any single horror movie or TV show. Some of its influences include Pod People, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Twilight Zone, Night of the Living Dead, The Thing, and Apple TV’s Severance. But while it wasn’t referencing any one story, it clearly paid tribute to one director. “Night Family” was Rick and Morty‘s humorous homage to Jordan Peele’s universe of films.

The plot of “Night Family” combines Get Out and Us into a perfect horror-comedy. The episode features the Smith clan using alien technology to create (what should be) unconscious “night” versions of themselves. Their nocturnal selfs are tasked with all the menial tasks the “dayminoids” don’t want to do while awake. For Rick and Morty that means getting in a full workout while sleeping. Meanwhile, Day Jerry becomes pen pals with Night Jerry, Beth learns to play the trumpet, and Summer learns Spanish and washes dishes.

Things take a sinister turn, though, when the Night Family gains sentience and begins making (reasonable) demands of the Day People. What follows is a tale of terror that takes inspiration both from Peele’s “Sunken Place” and his “Tethered.” The Day Family ends up locked inside their own brain, just like the victims in Get Out. They are made prisoners of the mind who are still technically “there” but not really.

Once in charge, the “evil” versions of the Smiths finally get to crawl out of the darkness and experience life of the Day People, same as the red-clad tunnel dwellers in Us. In reality, the Night People are not inherently bad anymore than the Tethered were. They just want the chance at a life they’ve been denied by those who have more than they do. They’re the oppressed serving doubles who don’t consider the feelings of their counterparts.

Rick and Morty‘s use of Peele’s films is so effective that the episode, while absolutely hilarious, is genuinely creepy. Seeing the Night Family hover over Rick’s bed is unsettling. As is watching Night Summer rule over day with an army of sleep-inducing robots. (Her answer to stirring a cup of tea.) But the episode does more than take inspiration from the plots of Get Out and Us. It begins like Nope and opens with a quote that both frames the coming story and invite viewers to dig deeper for meaning.

Nope opens with the Bible passage from Nahum 3:6. It reads: “And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a spectacle.” That quote connects with the action of the film, where an alien swallows things up and spits out garbage on people. And it relates to the movie’s primary theme about the perils of spectacle, as those who hope to profit off the alien become victims in the creature’s own deadly performance.

“Night Family” also begins with a passage. It starts with a partial quote from T.S. Eliot. (Which doesn’t sound real but absolutely is.)

When you’re alone in the middle of the night,
And you wake in a sweat and a hell of a fright.
When you’re alone in the middle of the bed,
And you wake like someone hit you on the head.
You’ve had a cream of a nightmare dream,
And you’ve got the hoo-ha’s…”

That comes from the poet’s incomplete verse drama Fragment of an Anon. It’s a work many Rick and Morty fans (including me) likely didn’t know about previously. And while it’s easy to see how this passage, much like Nope‘s Biblical verse, foreshadows the story that follow, there’s even more to take from it for those who want to engage with the episode further. Same as all of Peele’s movies.

The episode ends with the Night Family in charge and traveling around the world. But they soon learn Day People have responsibilities they never considered. There are bills to pay, jobs to work, and errands to run. All of which makes actual life sort of terrible! It’s all so overwhelming they decide they’d rather “die” and give their bodies back to their sunlight counterparts than deal with normal life. And that idea is also present in Fragment of an Anon, where the main character says, “Life is death.” You don’t need to know that to enjoy the episode, but doing so adds another layer of depth to an already great half-hour of television.

It’s a dark conclusion that has something to say about the nature of existence. Exactly the type of ending we’ve come to expect from Peele’s movies, which are always as thought provoking as they are entertaining.

And this episode reminds us why we love Jordan Peele’s films. A story that at times makes us laugh while also scaring us is exactly what keep us coming back to the “Peeleverse” and Rick and Morty.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! It’s all about family in this week’s episode, “Bethic Twinstinct” as Beth and Space Beth grow closer in a special Thanksgiving episode filled with callbacks, easter eggs, and plenty of self-love. Dan dives in to break down everything you might have missed on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Welcome back, Rick and Morty fans! It’s time to do a Die Hard as this week’s episode offers up a riff on the Christmas classic along with a sci-fi plot that sees Rick attempting to rescue a trapped Morty from a digital hellscape. “Rick: A Mort Well Lived” is filled with easter eggs, references, and some major implications for our heroes moving forward, and Dan’s breaking down everything you might have missed on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Rick and Morty are back in action in a premiere filled with call backs, lore, and plenty of gore. Picking up where the apocalyptic season 5 finale left off, “Solaricks” sees Rick, Morty, and the rest of the family dealing with the fallout while confirming some major fan theories in the process. Dan heads back to his original dimension to break down all the easter eggs, hidden details and everything else you might have missed in the Rick and Morty season 6 premiere on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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Rick and Morty went deep into its own lore to kick off season six. With so many plot points based on events that happened as far back as season one, you might not remember everything that occurred previously. Whether you’re a Rick and Morty historian or not, the Adult Swim series made one thing clear: its newest big bad has an even more complicated past than we realized.

Rick Sends Everyone Back to Their Original Reality

Season six picked up shortly after the shocking events of season five’s finale. With the Citadel gone and Evil Morty free of the Central Finite Curve, Rick and Morty found themselves stranded in space a la Iron Man and Nebula in Avengers: Endgame. (A movie Rick definitely saw.) Their escape saucer had run out of fuel and food, and their portal gun remained useless thanks to Evil Morty. The two would have died if not for Captain Marvel Space Beth’s timely-yet-corny rescue.

When Rick got home he had to reboot the portal index to make interdimensional travel quick and easy again. That was supposed to be as simple as doing a “a hard reset” on portal fluid. But rather than resetting portal travel, he reset portal travelers. Any person (even the dead) outside their original dimension began growing green before “one way blind hopping” back to their actual home world.

Rick, Morty, and Jerry then vanished, with Summer left to reset the portal navigation system back at the ruins of the Citadel of Ricks.

“Diane” Haunts Rick at Their Home

Rick returned to the dimension where he lived with his wife Diane and their daughter Beth. That’s also where another Rick killed both women, sending Rick C-137 (the show’s main Rick) on his quest for vengeance. (Not before Rick made a computer program of his dead wife’s voice to haunt him. Oof.)

We’d seen Diane and little Beth’s death as a memory in Rick and Morty‘s season three premiere (the infamous Szechuan sauce episode). But it wasn’t until the season five finale that the show confirmed that event was real and had sent Rick C-137 on a destructive path of vengeance and nihilism. Beth and Diane’s death transformed him into the “Rickest Rick” as Morty calls him.

However, despite a deadly search through countless realities, Rick never got revenge on Killer Rick. What we now know, though, is that he did find Killer Rick’s original dimension. And it’s one of the most important in the infinite universe.

Morty Returns to Cronenberg World

In season one’s sixth episode, Rick’s love potion antidote went horribly wrong. It transformed nearly everyone in the world into a David Cronenberg-like monster. Rick and Morty abandoned that dimension for an exact copy where Rick’s antidote worked. But they left behind Morty’s real mother, father, and sister, the only people on Cronenberg World to remain human.

The series revisited Cronenberg World during its loaded season three premiere, where Morty and his new Summer met his former family. Cronenberg World Jerry, Beth, and Summer had become post-apocalyptic warriors, but ended the episode frozen in ice when the Council of Ricks came looking for Morty and Summer.

Season six’s premiere revealed that by the time Rick inadvertently sent Morty back to his original dimension, only his father was still alive. Summer and Beth died shortly after they got out of the ice. But Morty wasn’t the only human Rick C-137 accidentally sent back to that monstrous land. A far great foe had also returned.

Rick and Morty Finally Resolves an Old Jerry Mystery

In season two’s second episode, Rick and Morty dropped Jerry off at Jerryboree, a special daycare center that had everything a Jerry could want. That included countless other Jerrys from other dimensions, most of whom looked exactly the same.

When Rick and Morty came back to pick up their Jerry, though, it wasn’t clear they took back the same one. Now we know that old gag was no joke – they didn’t. They mixed up their Jerrys, which no one realized until they swapped places again by returning to their original dimensions. That was an eye-opening experience for they Jerry we’ve known since he left Jerryboree. Him and his Beth never separated, leading to an angry, unhappy family.

Season two Jerry still managed to mess things up for his old family, though. He let Mr. Frundles out, necessitating the Smith family to relocate to an exact replica dimension where everyone says “parmesan” weird.

Killer Rick is Cronenberg World’s Greatest Monster

While this episode revisited old worlds, its biggest moment was a new revelation. The Rick who killed Diane and Beth comes from the Cronenberg dimension; he’s Morty’s actual home world grandfather. Rick C-137 moved there hoping to catch the elusive Killer Rick if he ever came home.

But Killer Rick is “the real deal.” (RIP Cronenberg World Jerry). He doesn’t care about anyone. He was never coming back for his family, so Morty was never bait. And that means the connection he has with Rick C-137 is real, even if Rick tries to deny it is.

This also means the show’s newest, and arguably greatest villain, is far more intertwined with everything that has ever happened on Rick and Morty than we thought. He didn’t just ruin Rick C-137’s life, he has a personal connection to Morty.

In a dimension full of strange beasts, the uncaring, shifty Killer Rick is the deadliest monster. And his story is just getting started.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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It feels like Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty is always making us wait. We know tons of episodes are coming, but the space in between drops is agonizing. What next will befall sociopathic genius Rick Sanchez and his ever-put-upon grandson Morty? What adventures do they have now that the Citadel of Ricks is no more? Oh, also remember how we know Rick’s official backstory now? Will that backstory resolve? Or will they just drop it? We just don’t know! What we do know, however, is Rick and Morty season six will premiere September 4, as evidenced by this new “extended” teaser. And something called “Wormageddon” is heading our way.

This teaser really doesn’t show us anything, but gives a few snippets of what happened in season five. We have just under a month and we still don’t know anything!

Well, one thing we know is that the Rick and Morty team are great with viral marketing campaign. Dropping alongside the teaser is this curious 15-second video called “A Citadel Secret” showing an egg in a cryogenic tube.

The official website, rickandmorty.com, features a curious countdown to “Wormageddon,” which could really be anything. The timer will expire at 7:00 a.m. PT on Thursday, August 18. We have to wait and see what that’s all about.

So far, we’ve also been given a full Rick and Morty season six trailer and a second Wormageddon teaser titled “Journey to Earth.” In the teaser, we see the egg hurtle through space in a destructive journey. This journey concludes with it finding its way to… you guessed it, Earth. And then it hatches… uh, oh.

What exactly Wormageddon is has now been revealed. And no, it’s not a Rick and Morty version of the old 1999 turn-based strategy game Worms Armageddon which I played in college on my neighbor’s old Sega Dreamcast. It’s a treasure hunt. According to the official Rick and Morty site, if you participate in Wormageddon, you’ll take part in “a global treasure hunt and… living episode of Rick and Morty. Solve clues to find nine hidden locations and claim a life-size golden Rick head.”

How exactly you solve clues and find locations isn’t yet totally clear. But you can keep your eye on this website if you want to participate. Evidently, five locations will be revealed to the world. And then you can help your favorite character defeat space worms. So, if you can figure out how to play, more power to you.

In any case, if there’s one thing we can always count on with Rick and Morty it’s to keep us all guessing. We are beyond ready for more nihilistic absurdity when the show’s sixth season premieres on September 4, 2022.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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After dropping a mysterious teaser and a countdown to Wormageddon, Rick and Morty fans were treated to proper full trailer for the show’s upcoming season! The action packed trailer is with robots, easter eggs, and plenty of Jerry, as Rick and the rest of the family set out on another set of sci-fi adventures. Dan dives in to break down all the easter eggs, hidden details and everything else you might have missed in the Rick and Morty trailer on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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You can’t expect a lot of peace and quiet when your grandfather is Rick Sanchez. But it looks like even by his standards the Smith family is in for a whole lot of trouble during Rick and Morty‘s sixth season. The show’s newest trailer finds Jerry, Beth, Space Beth, Summer, and Morty in constant danger. Some things are harder than having to “do a Die Hard,” though. Like dealing with your annoying neighbor Gene and launching another podcast out of a garage.

There’s a whole lot going on in this trailer. And it’s all worth paying attention to. But we need to take a second to point out something that shouldn’t be overlooked. The person who realized they should pair an action-packed Rick and Morty trailer with Black Sabbath deserves a raise. It’s a perfect combo. We pity the parallel worlds that got this trailer with some other song.

As for Rick and Morty‘s sixth season, “peril” awaits the Smith clan. Lots of peril. From killer robots and alien terrorists, to totally abandoning their own reality and becoming human shields, death is everywhere. Everyone and everything wants to kill Rick. (Or in Gene’s case, kill Rick’s patience.)

This trailer isn’t all violence and mortal danger, though. Space Beth is back. Woo! And there’s an updated version of our favorite alien video game, Roy: A Life Well Lived. Not to mention this trailer shows Summer getting Wolverine claws and Rick running around like the Men in Black’s very own cyborg.

However, one thing is missing from this Rick and Morty trailer. There’s no obvious clue about “Wormageddon” and the mysterious giant egg Evil Morty left behind at the Citadel.

For answer to those mysteries we’ll have to wait for Rick and Morty season six to premiere at Adult Swim on September 4. That’s not that far away so please don’t try and launch yet another podcast before then.

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Good news, Rick and Morty fans! That wub you lub to dub is almost back with the show’s sixth season set to premiere on September 4! Not only that, but now a mysterious countdown has appeared on the show’s official website, teasing at something called Wormageddon. With the countdown concluding on August 18 at 7pm Pacific Time, this worm based Armageddon could offer fans their best clue yet as to what Evil Morty’s master plan is. Dan grabs his portal gun to break down all the latest on this Evil Morty theory on today’s episode of Nerdist news!

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I know predicting what will happen on Rick and Morty is often intentionally impossible. But here’s the thing: it’s also a whole lot of fun. Especially when Adult Swim pairs a cryptic season six promo referencing the show’s most famous “villain” with an unexplained countdown and a mysterious event called “Wormageddon.” Together they promise Evil Morty left behind a farewell present for his grandfather, a biological weapon that could mean the end of every Rick Sanchez and his grandson.

Rick and Morty‘s season five finale answered the show’s biggest questions. We learned Rick’s “crybaby backstory” and saw the culmination of Evil Morty’s plan. Evil Morty knew about the Central Finite Curve, which he called “an infinite crib built around an infinite f***ing baby.” It walls off the infinite number of universes where Rick is the smartest person from all the other worlds. That way every version of him—especially the “Rickest Rick,” Rick C-137—can do whatever they want without consequence.

Evil Morty needed to complete his scan of Rick’s brain so he could escape the Central Finite Curve. Once he had that information he left to live in a multiverse free of his grandfather’s tyranny. But before he did he killed a whole lot of Ricks and a whole lot of Mortys. Evil Morty hacked the entire Citadel of Ricks portal gun fluid. Anyone who tried to portal out of the Citadel died a brutal death before the institution exploded moments after Evil Morty left.

We know why Evil Morty had no qualms about killing his own kind, though. Earlier in the episode he revealed Ricks are attached to Morty’s infinitely through “his weakness and our forgiveness.” Ricks need Mortys so much—and so often—the Citadel ultimately became a “Morty market.” Ricks even went from manipulating Beth and Jerry into getting together to birth Mortys naturally to creating Mortys in a lab. Evil Morty was so disgusted by his fellow kind he couldn’t even muster up hate for them. They’re just pawns “bred” for a terrible purpose – to enable Ricks.

Evil Morty seemingly left all of that behind when he broke through the Central Finite Curve and the Citadel exploded. But a short new Rick and Morty teaser, titled “A Citadel Secret,” reveals the series isn’t done with either. It opens on a mysterious giant egg inside one of the show’s signature cryogenic tubs. The egg is nefarious on its own, but after a few peaceful seconds the Citadel—which Evil Morty controlled for years—starts to blow up as Evil Morty’s signature music plays.

This promo not only takes place during the season five finale, the unmistakable music cue ties Evil Morty to the strange egg. An egg he left behind on a space station he turned into a Rick and Morty killing machine.

That little teaser would be exciting enough on its own, but the official Rick and Morty website is in on the mysterious fun, too. It currently has an unexplained countdown set to go off at 7:00 a.m. PT on August 18. The site also lists an upcoming event known only as “Wormageddon.” That’s a whole lot of teasing for something that feels big and sinister. So what could it be? Once again we turn to Evil Morty for the answers.

The Central Finite Curve exists separate from the rest of the multiverse. But it still contains an infinite number of worlds. That means it still contains an infinite number of Ricks and Mortys and always will. Even though Evil Morty escaped, what’s to stop Ricks from following him? Or attacking worlds outside their own infinite subsection? And even if they do nothing, with an infinite multiverse the whole cycle of the Citadel, Morty exploitation, and Ricks being giant a-holes will repeat forever. Evil Morty only got away and killed a meaningless number of enemies. He didn’t actually stop Ricks.

To do that you must destroy the Central Finite Curve and everyone within it forever. And the show already provided a way to make that armageddon possible – worms.

Rick and Morty‘s fourth episode of season three introduced The Vindicators. (Who just got their own prequel digital spinoff series.) But it opened with Morty trying to capture a bunch of dangerous little blue alien worms called semosites. “If their DNA gets into Earth’s food chain our entire species could be sterilized,” said Rick. When Morty asked why they didn’t just destroy them, Rick said it’s because he uses semosites to do just that – sterilize an entire species.

What better way to ensure the end of all Ricks and all Mortys forever than by leaving behind the mother of all semosites, one that could sterilize the Central Finite Curve? That would mean no more reproduction, which means no more Mortys, and ultimately no more Ricks. That would certainly qualify as “Wormageddon,” the final masterstroke in Evil Morty’s plan.

Makes sense, right? Obviously we think so. But will it prove to be right? Who cares! When it comes to Rick and Morty it’s fun to try and predict the unpredictable.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In my day, you had to wait years for a new season of Rick and Morty. And you know what? We liked it! …Mostly because we had no choice! But kids these days have it easy. The hit Adult Swim animated series returns in a reasonable amount of time now. And that trend will continue with the pair’s next set of adventures. The release date for Rick and Morty‘s sixth season has been announced. The show will premiere this September. And when it does, it’ll feature a whole lot of abs.

Adult Swim announced Rick and Morty will take off for a new season this year on Sunday, September 4th. That will be almost exactly one year to the day after the two-part season five finale aired. While we don’t yet have a season six trailer to go along with the new Rick and Morty release date, the network did provide a first-look photo of what it will include. It shows Rick and Morty proudly showing off their new six-pack stomachs. If we’re being honest, though, they’re kind of gross. They don’t look natural, and we don’t like them, which is why they’ll probably be really funny.

As is the absurd synopsis Adult Swim provided for season six of Rick and Morty. It promises…well…exactly the kind of stories we expect from the show.

It’s season six and Rick and Morty are back! Pick up where we left them, worse for wear and down on their luck. Will they manage to bounce back for more adventures? Or will they get swept up in an ocean of piss! Who knows?! Piss! Family! Intrigue! A bunch of dinosaurs! More piss! Another can’t miss season of your favorite show.

In a statement, Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim and Cartoon Network, also teased some upcoming fan opportunities. (Which we’re hoping has nothing to do with piss.) “It’s hard to overstate the impact of Rick and Morty,” he said. “More than a hit show, it is truly a global phenomenon. As we prepare to launch this soon-to-be iconic season, we will be giving fans a unique way to be part of the fun – so keep your eyes peeled.”

Only a year between seasons AND bonus extras? Rick and Morty’s fans have truly never had it easier. Thank goodness. None of us actually liked waiting.

The post RICK AND MORTY Season 6 Reveals Fall Release Date appeared first on Nerdist.

Rick and Morty has shown fans the infinite possibilities of the multiverse. Turns out lots of parallel worlds are super weird and full of stuff no one wants! But in 2019 Mondo gave our dimension something it so dearly needed: massive figures of our favorite grandpa and grandson duo. Now Mondo is back with Series 2 in its Rick and Morty collection. And this wave is a big addition to the lineup. It celebrates Morty’s very big, very vengeful arm along with a Mr. Meeseeks. That is unless you’re lucky enough to score two more figurines with the limited edition set which has a bonus Meeseeks along with Mr. Poopybutthole. But no matter which version you ban, we have your exclusive first look at these squanchy collectibles.

Mondo’s new Rick and Morty Figure Set – Series 2 brings together Big Arm Morty and a Happy Meeseeks. And you’ll need plenty of shelf space for them. Made out of PVC and ABS, Morty stands roughly 8.5 inches high and weighs about 6.65 ounces. Meanwhile his helpful tall blue assistant measures approximately 11.5 inches in height and 4.25 ounces in weight.

But you’ll get a lot more than just the two figurines, both of which feature neck, hand, and ankle articulation. The regular set ($140) comes with interchangeable heads and hands, as well as a bevy of accessories. The piece includes:

• Bloody Fist
• Duck Hand
• Happy Morty Head
• Angry Morty Head
• C Grip Morty Arm
• Extrapolator Gun
• Isotope
• Meeseeks Box

Click through the gallery below to see more of the Rick and Morty figures.

Click To View Gallery

All of those extras are also interchangeable with the Mondo’s Series 1 Rick and Morty figures.

But the 1,500 lucky customers who snag the Mondo Exclusive Limited Edition set ($150) are going to get all of that plus two incredible bonuses. And all for just 10 bucks more. The deluxe version comes with figures of Mr. Poopybutthole and an additional Distressed Meeseeks. Oooooooo weeeee, look at me indeed.

At least we’re yelling “wubba lubba dub dub” in this dimension. There are infinite parallel worlds where Mondo doesn’t even exist, let alone sells these figures. Hopefully, those universes don’t have portal guns so they can come to our world and buy these collectibles before they sell out.

These figures go on sale on Tuesday, May 24, at 10 a.m. PT/12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET. To purchase, check out mondoshop.com.

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Like many of you, we are huge Rick and Morty fans. We are also quite fond of novelty fast food items—including one of the most notorious in history. So please, we’re begging everyone to remain calm no matter how excited this news makes you. Because we all remember what happened last time. And no one wants another disaster now that McDonald’s is bringing back the Szechuan Sauce.

Especially since that infamous dipping sauce will be around for a very short time.

McDonald’s has announced it’s giving Szechuan Sauce another limited release. Starting on March 31, “for just a few days” and “while supplies last,” customers can get a free Szechuan Sauce packet with any order of Chicken McNuggets but only via the McDonald’s app. All you have to do is sign in and select the tangy retro sauce under your McNugget order. If that’s not enough for you, though, don’t freak out! You can buy up to five more packs a la carte.

This is only the fourth time McDonald’s has added Szechuan Sauce to its menu. It originally debuted in 1998 as part of the promotion for Disney’s Mulan. It came roaring back, literally thanks to some rabid customers, after Rick and Morty introduced a whole new generation to the stuff during the show’s season three premiere. McDonald’s was not prepared for the demand that followed the sauce’s initial limited return. That not only led to near riots, it led to a far more organized third release.

This time the fast food chain is marking Szechuan Sauce’s fourth foray with some new packaging. This time it will come in one of five limited-edition, golden foil packets. Put together they spell “Szechuan.”

But if you don’t get all five, or even a single packet, please, we beg you, don’t do something stupid. You could end up spelling your name to an officer taking a report.

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Oni Press and Warner Bros. Consumer Products have announced they’ve teamed with Adult Swim on three all-new Rick and Morty stories. Each will debut in 2022. The first will be extra spice-y. Rick and Morty Presents: HeRICKtics of Rick will launch on January 26. The one-shot comic from Amy Chu (Poison Ivy: Circle of Life, Sea Sirens) and Alexander Chang. With art by Sarah Stern (Rick and Morty, Aggretsuko). And lettering by crank! The story will see the duo head to a planet of incredible fortune and political intrigue. And a whole lot of sand. From the official announcement:

“When Rick finds the source of a new, incredibly powerful substance, he lays claim to an entire planet in order to corner the market. But Rick and Morty aren’t the only ones on the recently renamed Arrickis, and the original inhabitants aren’t going to go away quietly. Soon they become embroiled in the local political and religious struggle, forcing them to try and escape not only with their lives, but with their minds intact!”

Two other comics will follow the Dune spoof. Rick and Morty Presents: Morty’s Run will take on the 1976 dystopian film Logan’s Run. In the comic “Morty finds out he’s going to summer camp and will do anything to escape, including listening to Rick. Can Morty survive a world ruled by thirteen-year-olds all by himself?”

Ivan Cohen (Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Justice League: The One Where…) writes. With illustrations by Puste (Rick and Morty). Leonardo Ito (Batman’89, Rick and Morty) colors, and crank! is back for more lettering.

Finally, ooo weee, Rick and Morty Presents: Infinity Hour will be the pair’s latest Star Wars parody. Here’s the official synopsis:

“Rick has always known he was destined for greater things but when that greater thing calls, will he be ready to answer? In the four-issue miniseries Rick and Morty: Infinity Hour, Rick is recruited to join a galactic rebellion, forming a bond with a ragtag group of freedom fighters, mystics, and mercenaries. Can this team of would-be heroes overthrow the Galactic Federation?”

Mags Visaggio (Rick and Morty, Lost on Planet Earth) writes/ Marc Ellerby (Rick and Morty) provide illustrations. With Ito and Crank! also joining in on the fun again.

“This prequel is going to break your heart one second and make you punch your fist in the air the next,” said Ellerby in a statement. “Mags has written a great script, and I’m incredibly excited to team up with the legend that is Leonardo Ito on colors, one of the best color artists working in the industry today.”

Morty’s Run and Infinity Hour both hit stores March 2. And if season six follows these comics it’s really going to be one squanchy year for Rick and Morty fans.

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After Wrangler jeans saved Earth on Rick and Morty it only made sense for the denim company to team up with Adult Swim’s animated series for a line of clothing. Sure, Rick might hate the Federation and authority. But the smartest man in the infinite universes loves corporate crossovers. And once that partnership was a huge success it really made sense for them to do it again. So Wrangler is back with a second Rick and Morty collection.

Wrangler/Warner Bros. Consumer Products

Last year Wrangler’s line of Rick and Morty clothing sold out. Twice. With that kind of success it was all but inevitable another collection would follow. Now that second union is official. Wrangler has announced it’s once again teaming with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. This year fans can get four new pieces based on the show. The new collection includes “dual gender pieces,” each with an original design. There are two 100% cotton French terry crew neck sweatshirts, a 100% cotton French terry hoodie sweatshirt, and a denim jacket sporting “custom artwork lasered” onto the back.

“As an iconic heritage brand, Wrangler has a strong history in pop culture, and we love to embrace opportunities to reach new fans when we’re naturally integrated, including Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty and the organic mention of Wrangler denim being indestructible by the NX-5 Planet Remover in the show’s season 4 finale,” said Holly Wheeler, vice president of global brand marketing at Wrangler, in a statement. “Entering into our 75th anniversary celebration, we’ll be sharing even more exciting partnerships that will blend our western roots with modern culture, revealing where the brand is heading for the next 75 years.”

Wrangler/Warner Bros. Consumer Products

The Wrangler x Rick and Morty Collection is available only at Wrangler.com. Prices for the four pieces range from $59 to $79. And later this month fans of the show can also celebrate the series with the annual online Adult Swim Festival. It streams November 11-13 on Adult Swim’s YouTube channel.

Make sure you have some Wrangler jeans around just in case something goes wrong with the stream. We’ve seen that denim do amazing things when it comes to Rick and Morty.

The post RICK AND MORTY Teams With Wrangler Again for New Collection appeared first on Nerdist.

Early in Rick and Morty‘s fifth season, it seemed like the show might never give us any answers. Well never mind that. Instead, it gave us all the answers. The season five finale, “Rickmurai Jack,” showed us Rick’s entire backstory, the origins of The Citadel, the truth behind the Central Finite Curve, and the culmination of Evil Morty’s plan. It was a lot. Don’t worry if you felt confused at times, we’re here to serve as your own personal Morty and help. Here’s everything we learned from the Rick and Morty finale along with what it all means for the future of the show.

Adult Swim

Rick’s “Stupid Crybaby Backstory”

Bird Person once said wubba lubba dub-dub means “I am in great pain.” Now we know why Rick says it all the time. His full backstory is a bleak one. The fake memory he showed the Federation in the season three premiere was mostly true. A Rick from another dimension showed up in his garage offering him intra-dimensional technology. Rick C-137 (the show’s main Prime Rick) turned down his alternate dimension copy, saying that kind of life sounded lonely. But instead of taking “no” for an answer, Murder Rick dropped a bomb into the garage, killing Prime Rick’s wife and daughter.

Unlike the fake memory he showed the Federation, what followed felt much sadder. And much slower. In the fake memory, Rick instantly built his portal gun and headed into the multiverse. But that’s not really what happened in Rick’s backstory. What really happened is that a shell-shocked, depressed Rick lived in squalor at his shattered home until one day he decided to build that portal gun. He started visiting different worlds looking for the man who murdered his family. In his quest for vengeance, he became an arms dealer to acquire a crystal that helped him access his own memory. It gave him a full scan of the specific Rick who ruined his life.

During his journey through the universe, he found Bird Person. The show revealed their younger exploits earlier in season five. They fought the Federation, but their time together ended after the Battle of Blood Ridge. Rick went into the multiverse alone. Then his quest for revenge truly took shape. He discovered the location of an alliance of Ricks and began murdering every member there. He didn’t find the Rick he sought though. And before he could gather the data needed to locate Murder Rick, another Rick in his dying moments destroyed the information C-137 sought. A sad Rick returned to his home where he began drinking and killing every Rick who came looking for him.

Rick’s backstory only intensifies from there. The alliance of Ricks planned to destroy C-137 before he could kill again. Instead, he nearly wiped them out. The remaining survivors pledged fealty to Rick and together they built The Citadel. It was the only way to maintain peace among Ricks. But C-137 left it behind. Instead of ruling over a bureaucracy of Ricks, he found a universe where Beth lived. It was with his adult daughter that Rick found his Morty, the one he’s had adventures with for five seasons. (Though not the Beth, Jerry, and Summer whose home he crashed into. Rick and Morty left them behind when Rick Cronenberg’ed that world. They moved to an exact replica of their own world and replaced its recently deceased Rick and Morty.)

Adult Swim

Rick is a sad, lonely man who has yet to find the Rick that killed his wife and daughter. He didn’t want the life he leads, but pain is all he knows. Once his loneliness was too much to bear he found a family to be with. Whether the backstory that the Rick and Morty finale lays out is “stupid” or makes him a “crybaby” is open to interpretation.

The Citadel and the Morty Market

Evil Morty explained how Rogue Ricks used tortured Mortys to hide themselves from The Citadel of Ricks—a scheme first seen in season one in Evil Morty’s debut. That strategy worked so well that it inspired the denizens of The Citadel. It became a “Morty Market.” Ricks, eager to create more grandsons, started manipulating teenage Beth and Jerry to get together in almost every world. They also began breeding Mortys in a mass Morty production. Making Mortys was easier than scouring infinity for “naturally occurring grandsons.”

Adult Swim

If that sounds horrific it’s because it is. Evil Morty explained why while trying to show Prime Morty why he rejected their role in this nightmare.

“There aren’t infinite versions of our grandfather, Morty. He’s an infinite smear of one shitty old man. And he’s attached to us infinitely through his weakness and our forgiveness. This is why we’re with him. This is why we’re alive.”

As Rick realized himself, Mortys are also bred for forgiveness. It’s key to keeping them compliant and loyal to their Ricks. A necessary trait when Ricks are generally assholes who treat grandsons like disposable commodities with an endless backup supply. This is definitely one of the darkest aspects of the Rick and Morty finale.

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What Is the Central Finite Curve? A Wall Between Realities

The show made passing references to the Central Finite Curve previously—most notably in explaining how far from its center a particular Rick falls. Rick C-137, “the Rickest Rick,” sits right in the middle. He is the exact center of this previously unexplained concept. But every Rick within the Central Finite Curve has one thing in common: they are the smartest man in their own universe. Not because Rick is naturally the smartest man in every universe though. The Ricks of the Citadel simply separated themselves from all the infinite universes where they aren’t.

That’s what the Central Finite Curve really is: a wall between realities. As Evil Morty explained, it’s a barrier that divides “all the infinite universes from all the infinite universes where [Rick]’s the smartest man in the universe.” (Think of a line without end in either direction, but with one portion partitioned off. That section of the infinite universe is where Ricks live.)

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Rick, every version of him, exists within the Central Finite Curve. It’s an infinite portion of an infinite universe. It keeps Ricks from ever having to deal with a foe smarter than themselves. They dominate this portion of the multiverse.

The result makes it so every version of Morty that has ever existed “has spent every version” of all their lives “in one infinite crib built around an infinite f***ing baby.” The Central Finite Curve keeps Rick in a protective cocoon. It also keeps every Morty in a cage of servitude. At least it did.

Evil Morty’s Final Plan: Escaping His Cage

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President Morty’s evil plan all along was simple: escape the cage Ricks built for him. He killed a lot of Ricks and a lot of Mortys, but ultimately all he wanted to do was get to the other side of the Central Finite Curve. To the part of the infinite multiverse free of Ricks’ control over his kind’s existence. He said that’s what made him evil, “being sick” of his grandpa. And any Morty who ever grew tired of Ricks’ bulls***t was also evil.

But how could Evil Morty escape? To break through the Central Finite Curve Evil Morty needed the schematics to the Citadel’s dimensional drive. And to get that he needed to finish his scan of Rick’s mind, which he began in season one. That’s when President Morty used a fake Evil Rick to capture Rick C-137. Getting elected and taking control over the Citadel was the only way to make that information useful.

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Before he left this part of the multiverse behind though, he made sure to kill as many Rick and Mortys at The Citadel as he could. He hacked The Citadel’s portal gun fluid. Anyone who used that tainted green goo met their demise. Each gun opened to a dimension of instant death. Those who tried to escape via the previously established Operation Phoenix—seen in the season four premiere—died instantly when their new bodies got blended into bloody milkshakes. And those who didn’t try to escape at all got swept up in a tidal wave of killer portal gun fluid.

Rick and Morty survived with a number of other Mortys (including many deformed slave Mortys) when they ran to Mortyburg and broke free of The Citadel moments before the portal fluid totally destroyed it. By working together, Rick and Morty avoided the black hole that ate any remnants of the former center of Rick power.

What Happens Next on Rick and Morty?

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Rick’s meta-commentary during the episode, combined with a cornucopia of canonical lore and the completion of major arcs, points towards the show returning to its early-season format of standalone episodes. But the season five finale still set up big new questions for the series to answer.

Rick C-137 never found the Rick who killed his wife and daughter. For all we know he’s still out there, and the show’s Rick might still want vengeance. We also don’t know Murder Rick’s backstory. Why was he so intent on making a reluctant Rick live that intra-dimensional life too? Why create a powerful enemy at all? Why not be happy with an infinite number of Ricks who chose to travel the multiverse? There’s a lot more to that story worth exploring.

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We also don’t know how the relationship between Rick and Morty will change now that Morty knows his grandfather’s entire backstory. Will knowledge free Morty of this abusive relationship? Will the two be on a more equal footing going forward? Or might Morty become disillusioned with his grandfather? What if he develops genuine feelings of sympathy instead? We’re curious to know what will change for the two of them.

The show could also explore what lies beyond the Central Finite Curve. Evil Morty is gone, and we might never see him again. But if we do, what is the multiverse like without Rick as its ultimate genius? What’s life like for a Morty totally free of his grandfather? If the show ever travels back to that beautiful universe on the other side, it will likely be totally different from what we’ve seen before.

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And despite the Rick and Morty finale giving us Rick’s entire backstory, we still have questions about Rick’s dead wife, Diane. Rick might have thought this episode would put them to rest for good, but the biggest of them all still remains: where are the infinite number of Dianes who should still exist in the multiverse? Beth survived in some of them and became an adult. What about Diane? Did she die in every single universe? Is that why we’ve never seen any version of her? Or has Rick avoided ever seeing another version of her again?

Dianes should be out there somewhere. Why haven’t we met any of them?

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We know almost everything there is to know about Rick Sanchez’s backstory, and his greatest enemy is gone. Only, his true greatest enemy is still out there. As are all new questions about what awaits the show’s titular characters.

Rick and Morty‘s season five finale gave us a lot of answers. But not all of them.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post RICK AND MORTY’s Season 5 Finale Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

We’ve seen our share of anime theme song parodies in our day. But this latest one might be one of the best. For the season five finale of Rick and Morty, the Adult Swim series got a special opening title sequence. The episode, titled “Rickmurai Jack,” was of course a nod to another Cartoon Network classic, Samurai Jack. Once again, Rick and Morty went full anime on us. And then after an anime-inspired credits sequence, they just went back to regular old’ Rick and Morty. 

In the previous episode, Rick had teamed up with two crows, becoming “Crow Rick.” Now, Crow Rick faced off against his nemesis, Crow Scare. You can watch the anime-inspired opening credits for Rick and Two Crows right here:

Luckily for everyone, Rick and Morty translated the lyrics into English. And they are pretty much what you’d expect from a younger-skewing anime series. They go a little something like this: “I’m riding on the winds/ We are soaring with our black wings / Forever we will fight together / Beyond the sky with you.” It’s all appropriately chipper, and the tune will likely get lodged into your head all day. Sorry about that.

This is hardly Rick and Morty’s first anime reference. Last year, Adult Swim gave fans the Rick and Morty anime short “Rick and Morty vs. Genocider.” There was also “Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)” earlier this year. And in episode seven of season five, we got “GoTron Family Battle” AKA Voltron + Gatchaman + Evangelion. Which, if you haven’t seen it, is exactly what it sounds like. Cartoon Network has announced that more Rick and Morty anime shorts are on the way.

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The season five finale had a pretty major reveal, as Evil Morty made his long-awaited return. There is usually up to two years between Rick and Morty seasons, so you’re probably going to have to wait quite some time to see how it all pans out. In the meantime, just watch the opening credits to Rick and Two Crows one or five more times.

The post Watch the Full RICK AND MORTY Anime Title Sequence appeared first on Nerdist.

Great Scott! It’s finally happening. We think. Rick and Morty just teased its first-ever live-action version of the characters. And the show could not have picked a more fitting performer to play the mad scientist. Adult Swim knew the only man to play Rick Sanchez in the flesh is the same man who helped inspire the character and the show: Back to the Future‘s Christopher Lloyd.

Ooooooo weeeee is this exciting! Adult Swim’s unexpected—and totally unexplained—teaser features the legendary Lloyd as the smartest man in the infinite multiverse. He’s joined by IT‘s Jaeden Martell as Morty. The two step out of a portal into a real world version of Rick’s garage. “Morty, we’re home,” says a gassy Rick.

“Aww geez” replies a nervous Morty. He’s clearly not as thrilled about this development as his grandpa is. But Rick’s not nearly as thrilled as we are. What is this a teaser for? The upcoming one-hour season five finale? The show has never done a one-hour special before. Introducing a live-action Rick and Morty would definitely be special enough to earn a extra long episode. Or could this simply be a promo for another special short Adult Swim has planned? The series has released a number of them in the past. This might be the latest (and possibly greatest) one yet?

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(Even if this ends up being a commercial it’s still going to be cool. And still canon. Rick and Morty exist in an infinite multiverse. Everything they do is canon.)

What we do know is that Lloyd’s Rick is not the same Rick from the show. Show Rick is C-137. Lloyd is C-132. The fact the two are so close in classification certainly seems important. But exactly why remains to be seen—and we can’t wait. Doc Brown and Marty McFly inspired the creation of Rick and Morty. And Christopher Lloyd has long shared his love of the show. This is the perfect way, with perfect casting, to finally introduce live-action versions of the characters.

Now we just need to know what exactly Adult Swim plans to do with them.

The post RICK AND MORTY Promo Teases Christopher Lloyd as Live-Action Rick appeared first on Nerdist.

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The fake memory Rick showed the Galactic Federation in season three’s “The Rickshank Redemption” proved to be a lot more honest than we ever would have thought. The flashback showed his wife Diane—confirmed by Mr. Nimbus in the season five premiere to be both real and deceased—and their young daughter Beth both dying in an explosion caused by another Rick. Diane’s demise always felt like it had a hint of truth behind it. Especially since we’ve never met another version of her.

But Bird Person’s memory of 35-year-old Rick revealed that little Beth actually died too. And if Prime Rick’s daughter died as a child, she never grew up to have Morty. Therefore, the grandson Rick has taken on adventures for five seasons isn’t his Morty from his own dimension. It’s a random Morty.

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Until now Rick has seemingly had a special bond with his specific Morty. A connection far stronger and more meaningful than his relationship with any other family member. When Rick Cronenberg’ed his world in the show’s sixth episode, he left behind that reality’s Beth, Jerry, and Summer. He only took Morty with him to live in a new dimension. (Which seemingly happened a second time thanks to devious squirrels.) That new reality was an exact copy of the pre-Cronenberg dimension, except their counterparts died moments before they arrived. (They famously buried the bodies in the backyard.)

Rick loves the daughter he has now. He also loves the granddaughter he lives with. And he even cares about this particular Jerry. But Rick’s bond with his first Morty has always been more meaningful. The easy assumption for why was always simple. This Rick had a special bond with his own specific grandson, and not some random Morty from some random dimension.

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Now we know this Morty was random. Just one of an infinite number of Mortys available to Ricks everywhere. He’s no different than the many grandsons the Citadel of Ricks used to train. Where Mortys got assigned to random Ricks all the time. This particular pairing might be even more random than that. When he was younger, Rick didn’t even know Morty existed. A fact revealed when old Rick told Birdperson’s memory of 35-year-old Rick that Morty loves the Shrek movies.

“Mm-o-orty?”
“Hypothetical grandson we go on adventures with.”
“You’re one of those creeps who moves in with Abandoned Adult Beths.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“You live with a version of our dead daughter, it better be.”

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There’s no inherent bond between Rick and any member of his family. Morty included. But just because there’s nothing inherently special about Rick and Morty’s relationship doesn’t mean it’s not special. Instead of being a union bound by blood (or dimension), it’s one bound by love. Rick found something in Morty he was always looking for. And that something was also revealed to us during his Charlie Kaufman-esque adventure in Birdperson’s mind.

After the Battle of Blood Ridge, Rick asked Birdperson to travel the multiverse with him. He wanted the two of them to spend their lives together going on fun adventures. Because in a universe with infinite realities, nothing matters. So you might as well have a good time. Especially when you’re running from unimaginable pain. Birdperson wanted to know why he should do that if nothing matters. “You matter,” Rick answered. “To me.”

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Birdperson rejected Rick’s offer for 100 years of adventures. But eventually, Rick found someone who would do just that with him. He found his very own Morty. And unlike Beth, Summer, and Jerry, this Morty is irreplaceable. Just like Rick refused to find a different version of Birdperson in another dimension, he doesn’t want another version of his grandson.

Rick and Morty completely reframed the relationship between its title characters. We don’t know why Rick picked this Morty. We don’t know if this specific Morty is special in any way. Or how he would react to learning the truth about his grandpa. But now we know they aren’t connected by a shared dimension. Rick and Morty’s relationship is special because this Morty matters to him.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post RICK AND MORTY Totally Reframed Morty’s Role in Rick’s Life appeared first on Nerdist.

Anything is possible in a universe with infinite dimensions. Rick and Morty has introduced fans to cowboy and fish versions of its eponymous pair. Cronenberg variations roam free in monstrous realities. And countless renditions of the two fill a Citadel. We don’t need to visit a different dimension to imagine what an anime-adaption of the series might look like though. Adult Swim keeps showing us. Tower of God director Takashi Sano is back with another short. But no matter the animation style, one thing is always true about Rick and Morty: never trust Jerry with anything.

“Summer’s new boyfriend isn’t human, Jerry’s in big trouble as usual, and Rick is well…just being Rick.” is the official synopsis for the new Rick and Morty anime short from Adult Swim. “Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)” is Takashi Sano’s second anime special for the series. The first, ” Rick and Morty vs. Genocider,” debuted last summer. It was the second original anime special for the show. Studio DEEN’s “Samurai and Shogun” premiered last March. It was a Ricktacular tribute to the beloved Lone Wolf and Cub manga.

Sano’s new short directly connects to this week’s Rick and Morty episode. The GoTron robots Rick combined into bigger Voltron-like mega machines are back. Only this time that fighting behemoth has the consciousness of Summer’s A.I. boyfriend. Even worse? It has Jerry trapped inside. And he is definitely not equipped to deal with the situation. (No surprise. He’s not really equipped to deal with most situations.) In an anime that is bizarre even by Rick and Morty standards. Which is really saying something, especially after this season.

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In an alternate dimension, Rick and Morty always was, and always will be, an anime series. But hopefully, those fans are also getting American-style cartoons. Preferably ones featuring drunk robots having an existential crisis.

What’s the point of an infinite universe if you can’t get both?

The post RICK AND MORTY Gets Real Weird in New Anime Short appeared first on Nerdist.

We’ve been waiting for Rick and Morty‘s Voltron tribute since the show’s first season five trailer. And it delivered. But we never could have imagined it would also deliver a spot-on mob movie homage. Summer’s quest to help her grandpa consolidate GoTron power had so many voiceovers, needle drops, and whackings we had to check if Martin Scorsese directed. He didn’t, but his filmography played a major role throughout the episode. As did other popular mob movies, gangster tropes, and real-life mafioso. Here are all the mobster references we found in “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion.”

Morty Breaks Rick’s Heart

It wasn’t a Fredo-level betrayal, but an angry Rick’s callback to Michael Corleone in the The Godfather: Part II kicked off the mafia references. Just to be safe, Morty should never get in a canoe.

As Far Back As We Can Remember, We Always Wanted to Hear Voiceovers

Morty and Summer’s competing voiceover narrations mirrored two classic Scorsese mafia movies, Goodfellas and Çasino. Scorsese also employed narration at the start of The Departed. Other crime films, like The Usual Suspects, have used it too. None of them featured little voiceover aliens, though. At least we don’t think they did.

Fancy Egg Noodles With Ketchup

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That classic American-Italian entrée, a popular mob movie meal, appeared twice in the episode. Beth and Jerry ate it during their first scene. It was also served at episode’s end, after the family left behind it’s mafia-like life. While it looked the same both times, the latter dish hearkened back to Ray Liotta’s last scene in Goodfellas, when he explained the banality of his new life in Witness Protection. “Right after I got here I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and I got egg noodles and ketchup,” he said. “I’m an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.”

Jerry is also a schnook. But that doesn’t count as a reference.

Never Go Against the Family

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Whether by blood or blood pact, just about every mafia movie ever made is about “family.” And you never, ever, ever go against the family. The Smith clan thought Morty did. But he wasn’t a “rat” like Jerry said. (Another mob trope also covered in just about ever mafia movie ever.) Morty’s loyalty ultimately saved his grandpa’s life. Even though Rick made the same terrible decision Tony Montana did in Scarface.

Tony killed the person closest to him, the only member of his crew he could ever truly trust, his friend and head of security, Manny. Fortunately Rick only fired Summer rather than kill her. In a move that echoed Michael Corleone demoting Tom Hagen from consigliere. Like Tom with Michael, Summer only wanted to be accepted and loved by Rick.

The episode also included another Godfather Tom Hagen reference, when Summer said, just like Sonny Corleone said about Tom, Beth was not a “Wartime Mom.” Ouch.

Scorsese Staples and Mobster Tropes

In addition to voiceovers, the episode also relied on other mobster calling cards of Martin Scorsese. It featured countless needle drops, mainly in the style of the Rolling Stones. Just like in Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman. And unchecked greed led to a precipitous rise in power followed by a deadly tumultuous fall from grace. Just like in all those movies.

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The episode also featured car bombs, clandestine offers, meetings in the desert, an exclusive gangster nightclub that wasn’t as safe as everyone thought, talk of “clipping” people, and cold-blooded executions. Rick shot those Voiceovarians like he was a Joe Pesci character. Oh madone! Now that’s a recipe for one tasty mob film tribute.

Five Families and Familiar Faces

The meeting of the five Rick families came from both The Godfather and real life. Setting it at a BBQ was a Goodfellas-esque. And the heads of each family pulled from multiple films. Big Fat Rick was the show’s tribute to Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone.

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Rickardo Montoya was the episode’s answer to Scarface‘s Tony Montana.

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Hot Head Rick was a dead-ringer for James Caan’s ill-fated Sonny Corleone in The Godfather.

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Like Sonny, Hot Head Rick’s inability to control his anger led to his death. One he also should have seen coming.

And the first part of Little Ricky Wrap-it-Up’s name is a common mobster moniker. One given to real-life figures such as Little Nicky Scarfo, Little Augie Pisano, and countless others. Little Ricky Wrap-it-Up seemed a lot nicer than any of them, though. RIP Little Ricky. We’ll make sure to toast to your memory the next time we’re wearing a tuxedo at a nightclub.

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And despite Yo-Yo Rick not having a mobster counterpart, he did get his own mafia movie reference. Summer helped him cover up a murder. Just like Tom Hagen did for Senator Geary in The Godfather: Part II.

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The infamous Chicago mobster Al Capone also got a shoutout via graffiti outside the GoTron nightclub. “Get Capowned!” What does that mean? We don’t know, but based on Capone’s own life we don’t want to risk finding out.

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“Now I Gotta Turn My Back”

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If you thought it was cold in Goodfellas when Paulie handed a desperate Henry Hill a measly 3,200 bucks and said, “Now I gotta turn my back on you,” that was nothing compared to Beth giving Morty $16,000 and saying the same thing to her son. That was Frankie Carbone in the ice truck cold. It was also one of the funniest mob references in the whole episode.

Rick and His Little Friend

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Rick’s final stand as head of the GoTron Family was a direct parody of Tony Montana’s final scene in Scarface. Rick’s cockpit mirrored Tony’s home and office. And when his enemies came calling, Rick introduced them to his own little friend. “Say hello to my little me!” Unlike Tony, Rick survived his shootout. Because he still had people who loved him. Like a giant incest baby.

No mobster movie has ever ever had a giant incest baby. But if Martin Scorsese has one in his next movie we’ll know where he got the idea.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post All of RICK AND MORTY’s Mobster Movie Easter Eggs appeared first on Nerdist.

Rick and Morty‘s Thanksgiving special was a normal day for the Smith family. Rick turned himself into a turkey, again, to get a covert pardon from the President. Things then went horribly wrong for both men, resulting in the destruction of Washington DC and the deaths of many soldiers and giant mutant birds. Exactly the type of holiday disaster we expect from the smartest man in the universe. It’s also what we have come to expect from season five. “Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” was the latest episode to serve Rick a cold dish of consequences. As his past mistakes continue to reap problems for him and his family now. All while pointing to far worse issues to come.

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Rick’s history as a selfish, awful person intent on living in the moment has been the driving force of season five. In the premiere, he dealt with the fallout of a former friend turned enemy. As Mr. Nimbus forced his sworn enemy to make restitution for transgressions both old and new. In the next episode, Rick’s arrogance—passed on to his copies and his copies’ copies—led to an all-out decoy war. Decoys he had to make as a warning signal against the many foes who want him dead. And in episode five, “Amortycan Grickfitti,” Rick needlessly conning demons in a business deal resulted in his family having to escape literal Hell.

This season, Rick has also dealt with the consequences of being a terrible grandfather and role model. A planet-ending crawl full of orgies and drugs revealed just how much he’s corrupted Summer, who idolizes Rick so much she’s adopted his worst traits. And Rick’s reckless, hedonistic attitude about putting personal gratification first was easy to spot in Morty when Morty used a horse semen-collecting machine for his own…uh…purposes.

In an episode where Rick almost died because he had sex with a horse/human hybrid princess. Something he did despite though knowing the problems that affair would cause. Which ultimately included fathering a horse son and the birth of his grandkid’s accidental incest baby. (Side note: Imagine explaining any of this to a non-viewer?)

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Rick’s previous transgressions have caused him problems before. Like the entire Galactic Federation hunting him down. But no other season has ever made his old mistakes a focal point of every plot. Oftentimes Rick’s new adventures result in new problems. Dealing with the past is the overarching theme of the season thus far. One with an obvious meaning: the bill always comes due.

What we put out into the universe will make its way back to us. A lifetime of selfish behavior, without thought or concern for others, will result in a lifetime of resentment. And that resentment will find you, the same way it keeps finding Rick all these years later. When you keep antagonizing a President—who’d rather be your ally—for no other reason than because you can, eventually he’s going to also turn himself into a turkey so he can stop you. You can foster so much hatred that a man dedicated to protecting the United States will let a giant French Trojan horse robot take New York rather than let you best him again. Almost resulting in Spider FDR eating you and your grandson.

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But this continuous buffet of consequences is more than just the show’s creators telling us, yet again, Rick is a terrible person we shouldn’t admire or emulate. The new season continues to build on season four’s finale. That’s when the family learned Rick didn’t even know which of his daughters is real, Home Beth or Space Beth. In that episode, where Rick realized his love doesn’t outweigh his own failings, the rest of the family realized they no longer want to deal with his crap. “Yeah grandpa Rick, don’t drag us into your bulls*** just because you’re losing control,” Summer said. They care about him and want him around. But even they got wise to his act. His continued selfishness was finally too much for even the few people who care about him.

Without any of the love they feel for him, Rick might now be on his own entirely. Living alone in a universe that hates him. A universe that season five has shown is no longer willing to put up with him. One ready to make him pay for all the pain he has caused. And he has caused a lot of pain.

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That’s what should really worry Rick. Aggrieved demons, a pissed-off President, an angry King of the Ocean, and his own decoys aren’t the culmination of Rick’s many past mistakes. They’re just the beginning. With four episodes left, season five has plenty of time to serve Rick more fallout. And with the way the show has ended the majority of seasons, with finales that have weakened the control he has over his family, or resulted in him in handcuffs, his biggest past mistakes could soon make for a dark future on Rick and Morty. And unlike turkey meat, the darkest parts won’t be the tastiest.

The post RICK AND MORTY Is Pointing Towards a Darker Future for Rick appeared first on Nerdist.

No one is ever safe from being dubbed “cringe.” It doesn’t matter how cool you think you are, or how popular and successful you might be. You and your famous friends are one embarrassing rendition of “Imagine” away from all earning that sharp rebuke. But Rick and Morty‘s “Amortycan Grickfitti” showed why some things are worse than being cringe. Because the only thing lamer than being lame is thinking you’re better than those unafraid to be sincere.

Episode five of Rick and Morty‘s fifth season didn’t exactly hide what it thinks about those who mistreat the “uncool.” Jerry’s inability to recognize how the world sees him, and his naive trust in others, brought joy to literal demons who find pleasure in the pain of others. And Jerry’s general lameness is painful. Not that Jerry’s own family treated him any better than those Ceno-likes. They too used Jerry’s lack of self-awareness for their own gain: Rick to get out of a debt, Beth so she could feel superior to her husband while impressing her dad. Their disregard for Jerry’s feelings continued the on-the-nose analogy by leading all three to actual Hell.

It was there that Rick learned a hard truth about him and his son-in-law. “Cringe cannot exist in a vacuum,” because it’s a relative term. Something can only be square/geeky/awkward if something else is hip/happening/tight. And the other side of that cringe coin made Rick and Jerry a “package deal.” Because while Jerry is lame, Rick is “the lamest thing of all,” someone who thinks he’s cool.

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That revelation has been and always will be true. People who mistreat others are actually just a-holes. It forced Rick to be the one thing he hates most of all: sincere. The emotional detachment Rick typically wears as a shield wasn’t going to get them out of Hell. Rick had to honestly, without a knowing wink, own his mistakes and tell Jerry how he actually feels about him. “I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark about the deal I made with these evil dickweeds,” Rick said. “You’re way less cool than me, but it’s not cool of me to celebrate that. If I’m genuinely cool I should be able to love you, which I, therefore, do.”

(Note: Rick’s threat to Jerry when they got back to Earth, about replacing Jerry next time, didn’t negate what happened in Hell. The machine worked because it killed the demons with “100% sincerity.” And it needed an “embarrassing level” of sincerity just to jumpstart the process. Rick told the truth down there. Yay Jerry!)

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Rick’s approach to life is pretending he doesn’t care about anything. It doesn’t always work, but that general attitude is his defense mechanism. It protects him from feeling pain. If you don’t care about anything, nothing can ever bother you. And if you never fully commit to loving something, your sincerity can never be used against you either. You can’t be embarrassed by your favorite movie or book if you like them “ironically.” That way, if someone you think is cool, or someone who can make you feel bad about yourself, says a thing you like is dumb you can technically agree with them. You can play it cool by denying your own emotional attachment and sincerity.

But as this episode also made clear with its other subplot, that’s not a healthy approach to life. Caring about where you stand in the social hierarchy doesn’t lead to happiness. For Morty and Summer it almost resulted in them dying. And that detached attitude is how you end up ditching your new friends who gave you the “experience of a lifetime.” All for the constantly changing, nebulous moniker of being “cool.” But a Bruce that’s cool one minute can be a total Chut-pants the next. And that guy is not only uncool, he doesn’t have any friends either.

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The entire Smith clan avoided calamity because they all acted more like Jerry: they were sincere with themselves and others. For Rick it was telling his son-in-law he really does love him. For Morty and Summer it was recognizing how their own quest for social standing led them to project their insecurities on an emotionally-distant idiot with great hair and a slacked jaw. There was nothing cool about any of them acting like they didn’t care. Or caring too much about what others think. Because while being vulnerable might end up with you being hurt, never being vulnerable definitely will.

But don’t say “byesies,” you know? That’s definitely cringe.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post RICK AND MORTY’s Sincere Case for Being Cringe appeared first on Nerdist.

Morty Smith’s life changed the moment Rick returned to his family. After years spent traveling the multiverse, the naive child we met in the pilot is now a skilled killer who can outsmart almost anyone, anywhere in the galaxy. But the third episode of Rick and Morty season five showed that Morty is not the grandchild following in his grandfather’s footsteps. His sister Summer has become a nihilist embracing a purely hedonistic lifestyle. All while Rick fights against his own inclination to be more like Morty.

Adult Swim

“A Rickconvenient Mort” began with Morty meeting a girl/superhero and abandoning Rick’s planet-ending sex crawl. A far cry from season three when the two headed to Atlantis for a similar weekend of stimulation. With Morty passing on something “so Rickdiculous,” Summer got the invite. As well as an upgrade in her grandfather’s rankings. “I’m gonna drug it up and suck it up before each one goes ‘kablamo,'” said Rick. “And I’m taking my favorite grandkid along with me.”

Rick even gave Summer the vulgar matching T-shirt that Morty threw in their grandpa’s face when Planetina showed up. (A rare case of a metaphor being, quite literally, on the nose.)

Summer and Rick’s mantra for the trip was simple: “f*** love.” To ensure they lived up to that creed, Rick set some ground rules. No whining, no crying, and “absolutely, positively” no getting attached. Summer happily agreed with all of them. She was there for the same thing as her grandfather: to “smash max ass” with a goal of “quantity over quality.” This sentiment perfectly aligned with Rick’s general ethos in life. He does what feels good (like sleeping with an actual planet or everyone on it), consequences be damned. Even if that includes boasting with his teenage granddaughter about how many alien butts they each planned on meeting.

Summer’s transformation from normal high school student to cosmic party girl began when she started going on adventures with Rick. From having orgies with dragons, to starting a life with a post-apocalyptic warrior, she also does what she wants when she wants.

But this orgy-filled trip took her depraved proclivities to a whole new level. It’s hard to be more hedonistic than wearing a figure skate on your head while smoking a joint through your nose. All while visiting your second straight alien planet for an end-of-the-world romp. When you’re acting more wild than Rick Sanchez himself, you haven’t just thrown caution to the wind; you had a threesome with caution and the wind.

Adult Swim

Rick couldn’t even live up to those rules. He fell for Daphne the Morglutzian. When Summer told her grandpa to abandon his new relationship and have some fun, Rick responded, “Love’s pretty fun, Summer. Give it a chance.” That led to Summer really becoming her grandpa. She used his ship to blow up the comet about to destroy the planet. Once everyone was saved (against their will), Daphne left Rick, just as Summer predicted.

Rick was furious, but he recognized what Summer had done and why. “I have to admit, it was pretty Rick of you to avert an apocalypse in a tantrum of cynicism just to destroy one dumb relationship.” That’s exactly the type of thing Rick does. He’s destroyed multiple planets and killed untold sums of people to prove less important points in the past. Like why heist movies are dumb and hiding in a fake vat of acid is smart. And the more sincere someone else’s belief, the more he’s willing to show them why caring about anything is dumb.

Adult Swim

Morty doesn’t think that way. While Summer was having the “best week” of her life in a haze of anonymous sex and drugs, Morty was experiencing a connection with another person unlike any he had ever felt. Planetina made him feel like he belonged for the first time in his life. Morty loved her and she him. Unfortunately, the relationship ended in disappointment. Morty couldn’t accept Planetina’s Machiavellian approach to saving Earth. Morty may have murdered people to be with her, but he still has his own moral compass. He believes in right and wrong and cares about others. And it would be wrong to support her, even though leaving her hurt him so much. A very un-Rick-like thing to do.

The episode’s two seemingly unrelated storylines came together to show why Rick is more like Morty than he’d like to admit. Morty is not a cynic. He believes in people and the idea of love. Rick doesn’t want to, because love results in pain. Like when Daphne left him in this episode; or when the hivemind Unity broke up with him before, which resulting in Rick almost ending his life. And possibly like what happened with his wife Diane.

Adult Swim

Rick chose a hedonistic lifestyle specifically so he wouldn’t feel that pain. But we’ve seen again and again he’s lying to himself when he says he doesn’t want that. Time and again, he keeps looking for the type of emotional connection Morty had with Planetina.

Summer is following the same path her grandfather did when he abandoned his family. But Rick is proof that path doesn’t lead to happiness. It leads to an empty existence. Morty’s desire to fill his life with love might lead to pain, but pain is not empty. Nor is it without meaning. Summer and Rick should strive to be more like Morty.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post On RICK AND MORTY, Summer Is Becoming Rick as Rick Becomes Morty appeared first on Nerdist.

Rick and Morty has never been shy about trolling its fans with meta episodes. The show’s fourth season gave us multiple examples of that. But season five’s completely absurd second installment, “Mortyplicity,” felt less like a troll job and more like an omen. An omen for viewers expecting to eventually learn Rick Sanchez’s secrets. In the end, the show’s lore and backstory might be nothing more than decoys for what the series is really about.

Anything can happen on Rick and Morty. Not because it’s an animated series, but because it takes place in a universe with infinite dimensions. There are infinite Ricks out there, which can be hard to remember because it’s impossible to comprehend. Human minds just aren’t built to imagine something that never ends. Still, the show hosts an inexhaustible number of both Ricks and possibilities. Even though the series has (seemingly) been primarily following the exploits of just one—Rick C-137—by definition, an infinite multiverse will contain an infinite numbers of Rick C-137s. We might be seeing a totally different Rick in every episode.

And if you think that’s impossible, just ask yourself how many times in this episode you were positive the real Rick had finally shown up. Yeah, if all of this hurts your head and makes you feel like Jerry, you’re actually getting it.

Season five’s second episode made the concept of infinity more manageable by showing us how it works on a small scale. Rick developed a decoy family system. The Westworld/Ex Machina doubles served as an alert system. They would take the brunt of any unexpected assault, giving the real family time to escape. However, the decoys, unaware of their own identity, created their own decoys too. The result was a single dimension overrun with decoy Ricks killing other decoy Ricks. It wasn’t never-ending, but it felt that way until the final scene with the family flying around with Space Beth.

In some ways, this episode served as a standalone story. But “Mortyplicity” explicitly raised the possibility that we’ve been watching Smith robot copies for multiple seasons. “That’s what the decoys are for. They go on fun, self-contained, terrestrial adventures and take bullets meant for us,” said one Decoy Rick. Have we been watching decoys in every episode? Is it possible  that much of what we think we know about Rick C-137 is a lie? Those are question the show raised itself. That is, if anything we saw or heard at all was real.

“You get far enough down the decoy line and s*** starts to get weird,” said another Decoy Rick. A copy-of-a-copy’s thoughts may just be a distorted—if not outright incorrect—version of the real Rick’s. That quote makes it impossible to evaluate how much stock (if any) we should put into the words of decoys. Can Rick come to “grips with his bulls***,” as one Decoy Beth said? Is Rick C-137’s primary goal to “provide for his family?” And did the real Rick inadvertently create “an ocean” of decoys because he’s “terrified of losing” both his family and his life?

Adult Swim

The unsatisfying answer to all of those questions is “maybe.” Despite what the series told its audience in season four about not overthinking everything, Rick and Morty‘s creators keep intentionally giving us reasons to overthink everything. Like when the Sesame Street Decoy-Decoy Rick seemingly offered real insight into how everything said by copies still had meaning.

“Look, Beth, I might not be the real Rick. But even if I’m not, he made me, or the ‘me’ that made me. Which means somewhere inside of him is a version of Rick capable of hearing that. A version of Rick who’s sorry. I’m sorry about the clone thing too. I love you.”

There’s no way to know if that quote, or anything else a decoy said, applies to Rick C-137. This apology could be fact. Or at least have elements of the truth. Or it could be complete nonsense. It’s not clear that this is a piece to the bigger Rick puzzle. More importantly, it’s not clear there’s even a puzzle to solve. Since we obviously have no idea if any Rick is “our” Rick.

Adult Swim

And that’s the point. Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland have created a universe where the infinite is possible. And if anything and everything can happen, it might not be possible for anything to have meaning. Not even what we see happen on the show. The season five premiere appeared to confirm an indisputable fact about Rick’s past: his wife Diane was real and he cared for her. Only, on Instagram, Dan Harmon himself commented on our story to point out that:

A) there’s an argument to be made that the show didn’t do that, but…

B) the episode also gives evidence why “A” is not true. All before he said…

C) “I don’t know. It’s a confusing show. I hope they do more meseeks.”

When the series’ co-creator admits that it’s nearly impossible to get definitive answers to anything—right before a bunch of decoys remind us why that’s true—it might be time to stop expecting major mysteries to ever get resolved. We might never learn what happened to Diane. Or why Rick left his daughter behind. Clues about lore and backstory are meaningless when you aren’t even sure which version of a character you’re watching every week.

Adult Swim

That’s not a problem, though. It’s actually one of the show’s strengths. Like Rick breaking the fourth wall, the series uses self-awareness to create an entertaining viewing experience while also keeping audience expectations in check. Rick and Morty‘s writers know it’s fun for fans to explore the show on a deeper level. But the show also understands the limits and dangers of doing that. When expectations go unchecked, a show can become a victim of those very same theories. Rather than viewers judging a show on its own merits, they sometimes judge it for what it didn’t end up doing. Like with WandaVision, which disappointed some viewers by never introducing Mephisto despite suggestive Easter eggs.

Like Rick and Morty often does, this episode walked that line by giving viewers both sides. Decoy Ricks gave us a reason to think we had uncovered more lore, while the show gave us reasons not to believe them. What we do with that dichotomy is up to each viewer. But no matter how you feel, it’s never been clearer that one day this show might end without giving us the answers we have spent so much energy searching for.

Adult Swim

It no longer seems like Rick and Morty is about filling in Rick’s backstory and explaining his motivations. In fact, this is something that Rick and Morty has been telling viewers from the beginning. In season one, Morty told Summer why life is so hard and how to deal with it. It might be a bleak outlook on existence. But it captures why Rick and Morty will have been worth watching even if it never answers any of our questions: “Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody’s gonna die. Come watch TV.”

When the infinite is possible, all you really have is what’s in front of you right now, in the moment. Infinity doesn’t end. But, just like us, TV shows do. And how they end isn’t as important as whether or not they were fun to watch while they were on.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post RICK AND MORTY Will Never Give Us Any Real Answers appeared first on Nerdist.

Rick and Morty‘s season five premiere gave us arguably the silliest character in the show’s history: Mr. Nimbus. Nevertheless, the character delivered a definitive answer about Rick’s murky past. We now know for certain this version of Richard really did have a wife named Diane. The revelation not only reframes one of the most important scenes from the series, it might also explain why Rick is so lonely.

Adult Swim

The presence of Beth’s apparently dead mother looms large despite how seldom Rick and Morty has shown or referenced her. Characters have spoken about her in passing just a handful of times, and she’s appeared even fewer. Her only “real” scene took place during the show’s season three premiere, “The Rickshank Rickdemption.” That’s when the Galactic Federation hacked Rick’s brain to learn the secret of interdimensional travel.

Rick showed the Federation agent the “memory” of when he created his portal gun. It began with another Rick showing up to give a young Blue Pants Rick the technology. But Blue Pants Rick passed on the offer, saying that it sounded like a lonely existence. Instead, he gave up inventing entirely so he could spend more time with his wife and young daughter.

Adult Swim

This was the only sequence on the show featuring Rick’s wife Diane. She wholly supported her husband’s career and subsequent choice to give it up. The two seemingly had a wonderful marriage full of love. But she and Beth died in front of Rick, from a bomb thrown into the family garage via a portal.  A grieving and vengeful Blue Pants Rick then worked out the math on interdimensional travel himself.

Adult Swim

Of course, this tragic tale was “a totally fabricated origin story.” Rick created a fake memory to trick the Federation into uploading a virus, giving him control of their ship. Fans couldn’t trust anything shown during that bogus memory—minus how good McDonald’s Szechuan sauce really was—including whether Diane was real.

Before the season five premiere, the closest the show ever came to confirming Diane’s existence was a single memory that flashed onscreen when Rick transferred Real Beth’s memories into Clone Beth. That scene included a very young Beth hugging a blonde woman, shown only from behind. The implication was that this was Diane, but there was nothing definitive to prove it. (You also can’t put it past Rick to upload fake memories.)

Adult Swim

It took Mr. Nimbus to confirm that Beth’s mom really was a woman name Diane. Nimbus knew Rick as a young man. While trading verbal barbs about how much stronger the other had been long ago, Nimbus referenced Rick’s wife by name:

“Or maybe you hate me because I am the only man to see how far you have fallen. I used to fear you. Respect you. Now all that’s left is pity, for a sad, drunk shell of a man too afraid to see how alone he truly is. If Diane were alive today, what would she think—”

The mere mention of Diane sent Rick into a rage. And in classic Rick and Morty fashion, he responded with a line dripping with meta humor. “Don’t f***ing establish canonical backstory with me,” said Rick. That meta acknowledgement removed any possible doubt that fans might have still had about Diane’s existence. She was real and she was Rick’s wife.

Adult Swim

Knowing that for certain reframes the “totally fabricated origin story” Rick showed the Federation. We could never be certain any of it was true before. But now we know Rick, at minimum, used the memory of his actual wife in it. Was he really about to give up on portal technology and science altogether for his wife and daughter? Did Diane’s death cause him to leave? Or was this an idealized version of their marriage he wished had been true? In season one, he referenced their relationship by saying he was “stranded in a failing marriage” when he left Beth.

Or is it possible that fake memory wasn’t fake at all, but rather a perverse mirror of what really did happen? Was our Rick the one in tactical gear who showed up offering portal technology to a Blue Pants Rick? Who loved his wife and daughter too much to accept it? The show has already given us reason to think that before. Blue Pants Rick wore the same clothes as Simple Rick, introduced in a commercial at the Citadel of Ricks. The liquid distillation of Simple Rick’s memories of Beth’s third birthday was the key ingredient in wafer cookies. His existence might be questionable. But Blue Pants Rick has a lot in common with Simple Rick.

Adult Swim

The show still has countless questions to answer about Rick’s past and why he left his family. But an equally silly nemesis has now established the first, most important piece of that puzzle: Diane was real. And the thought of her judging Rick for the man he has become made Rick furious. We don’t know what happened between the two, or what fate ultimately befell her. But it’s clear Rick cared about her once. And still does on some level.

One things we’ve always known is that Rick is so lonely. The show has never been shy about exploring his emotional distress. He almost ended his life after the hive mind Unity broke up with him. Bird Person also revealed that “Wubba-lubba-dub-dub” means, “I am in great pain. Please help me.” This pain is why Rick drags his poor grandson around on dangerous adventures, and tries to control his family, lest they realize they don’t need him.

As his nemesis said earlier in the episode, “Perhaps Richard has no one with whom he can trust his life. Who truly knows him. Save me.” Maybe Rick hasn’t had anyone he can trust since he lost/left Diane. Blue Pants Rick, whether he existed or not, was right. Rick leads a lonely life. It’s a life of existential emptiness he fills with nonsense like Fish Man foes. “I’m scared, Morty. I can see the end,” he said as he was dying at the episode’s start. “I’m a silly man. I’m a silly, small man. I’m sorry I got you into this.”

But what got Rick into this way of life originally? Did he lose his wife? Leave her? And why did he finally come back to his family after being gone for so long? Someone knows the full story.

When Mr. Nimbus finishes with Beth and Jerry, maybe he can tell us more old tales about the man he knows so well. Maybe he can share more insights into a young Rick Sanchez and his wife Diane. If the truth is anything like the fake memory Rick showed the Federation, some real tears might make the Earth wetter.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post RICK AND MORTY Season Five Premiere Answered a Backstory Question appeared first on Nerdist.

Things to Remember

There are Now Two Beths

Adult Swim

In season three, episode nine, Rick told his daughter Beth he could make her an exact clone to stay at home and care for her family. That way the real Beth could go off on galactic adventures. The show never revealed whether or not she took him up on that offer. Not until we seemingly got an answer in the season four finale.

The episode introduced Space Beth, a dangerous freedom fighter a lot like her father. But when Space Beth realized she might be a clone, she came back to Earth to kill Rick. Ultimately though the show revealed that in season three Beth had actually asked her father to make the decision for her. Instead of taking responsibility, he cowardly absolved himself of the knowledge over which Beth was actually the clone. Now no one knows if Space Beth or Home Beth is the real one. But neither of them cares. Nor does the rest of the family. There are now two Beths. Both of whom think their father is “a piece of s***.”

There’s a New Galactic Federation 

The Gromflomites, seemingly wiped out by Rick previously, regrouped to form the New Galactic Federation. But Rick is no longer their number one enemy. As Tammy told Rick, “They know if you’re left alone you’re a non-threat.” Rick says that’s what he wants. But when he was forced to rescue both Beths from the Federation, he seemed to revel in reminding the bug-like invaders how dangerous he still is.

The Gromflomites focus will likely remain on the family. Space Beth is their number one enemy, and that makes Rick their problem too. So long as the Galactic Federation exists, they are, at minimum, a potential nuisance for the Smith family to deal with.

Rick is Losing Control

Adult Swim

At the end of season four, not one member of the Smiths cared to learn which Beth is the clone. Because they have bigger concerns than dealing with their selfish family member. “The truth is we have more important s*** to do, like raise our kids and stamp out the Federation. Neither of which seem like they want anything to do with you,” said Space Beth. She also got Rick to cower when she feigned punching him.

Even Rick’s grandkids seem to be done with his crap. Morty thinks it’s cool to have two moms and isn’t concerned with Rick’s antics. And Summer really put him in his place. “Yeah grandpa Rick, don’t drag us into your bulls*** just because you’re losing control.” Rick enters season five with far less power over his family than he had before. Everyone seems wise to his manipulative ways.

Rick Saved Phoenix/Bird Person (and Tammy is Dead)

Adult Swim

“Holy shit I’m a terrible father,” admitted Rick, before adding, “At least I’m a pretty good friend.” That’s because in the season four finale Rick saved his best bud (sorry Squanchy) Bird/Phoenix Person. The undercover Federation agent Tammy had resurrected Bird Person after he died at their sham wedding. In his place rose Phoenix Person. “PP” still loved Tammy very much though.

Phoenix Person and Rick staged an epic fight that ended when Jerry came to Rick’s rescue. Jerry used Tammy’s dead body as a puppet, which enraged Phoenix Person. And that fury hadn’t passed by the time Rick turned his friend’s body back on in the garage. While Bird Person is not his old self yet, it seems like only a matter of time before Rick has his bestie back. Assuming Bird Person won’t hold Phoenix Person’s old grudges.

Biggest Questions (and Predictions)

Will We Ever Learn Which Beth is the Clone?

Adult Swim

Space Beth and Home Beth don’t care to know which one is a clone. Neither do Morty, Summer, and Jerry, who is stoked to have two wives. But how long will that be okay? Will Space Beth simply go off on more adventures and only return sporadically? Leaving Home Beth to independently lead her domestic life? Or will having an exact replica in the same universe eventually cause problems for both? Also, will the initial excitement of double Beths wear off, making the rest of the Smith clan regret having two moms/wives?

And how long will the show want to account for the exploits of each? Maybe it will never be a problem. But if it is, either for the characters or the writers, the issue could be resolved by finally revealing which Beth is the clone.

Prediction: We’ll have two Beths—and no idea who the clone is—at least past season five. Possibly forever.

Can Rick Establish Dominance Over His Family Yet Again?

We’ve seen Rick end a season in a very bad place before. To save his family he willingly turned himself over to the Galactic Federation in the season two finale. But in the season three premiere that turned out to be a brilliant ploy to destroy his enemies. He ended that episode by re-establishing himself as the head of his family. A position he then lost again in the season three finale. Before he gained it back in season four. It’s just what he does.

From getting Beth and Jerry to break up only to see them reunite, to losing and regaining Morty’s fealty repeatedly, this is a familiar pattern for Rick. The big difference in the season four finale though was that the family finally seemed to be exhausted by his selfishness. And he lost the support of his biggest backer in Beth. Two-times over. Without her (both of her) concerned with pleasing her father and making sure he never leaves again, can Rick recapture his role as the center of the Smith family?

Prediction: Yes. Never bet against a winning streak. And Rick always wins, including family power struggles. But we do think something has changed in the Smith family for good.

Will Evil Morty Return?

Adult Swim

In what turned out to be an incredible trailer troll job, the only time we saw Evil Morty in season four was during “Never Ricking Morty,” which took place on a Narrative toy train. None of those stories actually happened; they aren’t canon. Evil Morty hasn’t really appeared since season three.

Will he make a return in season five? And if he does, will we learn more about the sinister president of the Citadel of Ricks true plans? He’s Rick’s most dangerous foe, even if Rick doesn’t know it. Is this the year Evil Morty makes his presence felt to our Rick and Morty?

Prediction: We will see Evil Morty—for real—this time. And it will be a significant new chapter in his story. But we won’t get all the answers. His arc and role on the show will only get bigger going forward.

What Is Real About Rick’s Past?

Adult Swim

We know almost nothing about Beth’s mom, Diane. Or exactly why Rick left his wife and daughter. We can’t even be sure Diane was real or that she died. It’s not even certain Rick actually abandoned his family. Was he taken from them? All we’ve ever seen from his past are questionable “memories” he used to trick the Federation. Those flashbacks might be total fabrications.

So what, if anything, actually is true? Why was he out of Beth’s life for so long only to then return to his family? This might be the defining question about Rick, which could explain everything about his past and why he is the way he is.

Prediction: After season four mostly ignored major questions about the show’s lore, season five will dive right back into it. We don’t expect any actual answers about Rick’s past. But we do expect lots of new clues for us to try and decipher for meaning. It’s going to be both frustrating and a whole lot of fun.

What’s the Deal With That Talking Cat?

Adult Swim

Normally a talking cat on Rick and Morty wouldn’t seem weird. But not only was season four’s jabbering feline hiding kind of unimaginable horror, the show basically said we will learn more about the cat’s story eventually. Possibly in a season finale.

At the time we speculated that cat could connect to the ever-elusive Cthulhu episode viewers think the show’s opening credits hint at. Might this kitty really be that infamous monster? Or does it hold even darker secrets? Whatever the truth, Rick and Morty teased giving us answers someday.

Prediction: Those answers won’t come in season five. There are bigger issues to deal with. And the show is never in a rush to tie up loose ends. That’s if this is a loose end it ever goes back to. The talking cat mystery might never even be solved. Season four featured multiple episodes that doubled as troll jobs. A monstrous mystery might be its biggest one. Like the show’s own version of The Sopranos missing Russian in the snow.

Will We Get Another Interdimensional Cable Episode?

Adult Swim

Well, will we? WILL WE? Obviously, we hope so.

Prediction: …Maybe.

Yeah, we know. Not exactly a bold prediction. But you know what they say: “And that’s the way the news goes.”

The post What to Know Before RICK AND MORTY’s Season 5 Premiere appeared first on Nerdist.

There’s still a part of me that doesn’t believe Rick and Morty‘s fifth season will premiere on June 20. As both a fan and someone who writes about the show, it’s hard to believe we don’t have to wait two-plus years between seasons. But Adult Swim swears it will air new episodes this month, roughly one year after the series finished season four. But maybe it’s time to finally let myself enjoy this quick production turnaround. Because the network is celebrating its hit animated series’s return by letting all of us become a part of the Rick and Morty multiverse. You can now make an avatar of yourself that looks like a character on the show. And you can even turn yourself into an alien.

Adult Swim

Oooooooh wee this is fun. Adult Swim’s “Rick Yourself” website lets you build customized Rick and Morty characters. That includes letting you make an animated avatar of yourself. You can remain a human, one of the many alien species on the show, or a robot. First you start with a base body. That can be anything from a normal Earth man or woman, to a giant pickle. (In case you want to avoid family therapy.) Depending on your choice, you can then select from a wide-selection of torsos, arms, and legs. You can even select two totally different arms if you want.

From there pick your head shape, which again can be human, alien, or robot. (Or, technically, alien-robot). Then add the right—or wrong—eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and facial hair. And tif you like you can even pick from a few extras. You can become a Gazorpian. Or, my favorite, hang out with a cool jazz snake musician.

“Rick Yourself” is just one way Adult Swim is celebrating “Rick and Morty Day” when the show returns on June 20. Spanning TV, social media, and online, the virtual event will also include episode marathons, bonus content, behind-the-scenes looks, and more.

So yeah. This really is happening. Rick and Morty is coming back much sooner than I can believe. Guess my avatar should look pleasantly surprised.

The post You Can Now Turn Yourself into a RICK AND MORTY Character appeared first on Nerdist.

Rick and Morty went old school with this new promo. It uses one of the most effective trailer songs ever, “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys. The track would work just for the clips showing Rick and Morty fighting huge turkeys. Something tells us Thanksgiving won’t be a piece of pie in a certain dimension this year.

It seems as though the President will fight alongside Rick and Morty to stop the giant birds. It’s nice to see those three patching things up.

Adult Swim

That’s far from the only bizarre scenario that the smartest man in the infinite universes will find himself in. We can also look forward to plenty more nonsense. That includes the Smith family’s Voltron-esque battle with a giant bug; a “strange horny ocean man” ready to fight Richard; a female Captain Planet making Morty her new sidekick; an unfortunate Hellraiser cenobite-filled world; and plenty of general mayhem and people trying to kill Rick.

But the most surprising development? Jerry going on a job interview. Even with infinite universes, some things still seem impossible. Season five really will be the show’s weirdest yet.

The post RICK AND MORTY Fight Everyone in New Season 5 Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege arena is not for the feint of heart already. Now it’s about to get a lot more deadly. The most dangerous killer in the multiverse is joining the fight. With an update that is one very big dill. Players will soon be able to enter the first-person shooter as Pickle Rick, thanks to the game’s new Rick and Morty bundles.

Rainbow Six Siege has announced two additional skins for the game, as part of a crossover with the hit Adult Swim animated series. Starting on April 15, players can add some “visual flair” with the Smoke Pickle Rick and Sledge Gromflomite bundles.

The Smoke Pickle Rick bundle features one of Rick’s most notorious forms. But this is not the seemingly helpless pickle that nearly died in the sun. This skin features Pickle Rick in his rat suit with accompanying creepy headgear. That’s the look Rick sported after outfitting his green body with rat parts. (Still one of the weirdest and best episodes ever.) The weapon skin also comes with a portal gun attachment, as well as a Pickle Rick Charm.

Ubisoft/Adult Swim

However, if you’re less inclined to play as a murderous genius, maybe because you prefer a more structured role as a soldier in a large army, you can instead opt for the new Sledge Gromflomite bundle. Gromflomites are the insectoid aliens who led the Galactic Federation. Or at least they did before Rick destroyed it. This new Sledge bundle features a Gromflomite uniform and headgear. It also includes the Federation Defense attachment skin, a weapon skin for Sledge’s M590A1, and a Seal Team Rick Charm.

Both bundles will cost players 2,160 R6 credits. It’s totally free though to yell “wubbalubbadubdub” whenever you take out an opponent. Of course, if you’re fighting against Rick you might not want to. Rick always re-spawns. And when he does he’s even more dangerous. Rick and Morty comes back in to Adult Swim in June.

Featured Image: Ubisoft

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Did you know that most April Fools’ Day “pranks” are terrible? Well, they are. This “holiday” is the absolute worst and we dread it every year. But on rare occasions we come across a gag that is actually entertaining. It’s also easier to find one that really works when you have access to an infinite number of universes, like Adult Swim. The network’s 2021 April Fools’ Day joke is genuinely fantastic. It’s so good we wish it wasn’t a prank at all. Because we would absolutely watch the spin-off series Rick and Morty Babies.

Adult Swim kicked off April 1 with a Muppet Babies-style version of the opening credits from the Rick and Morty. (Which we first came across at IGN.) The network even went to the trouble of changing their YouTube name. It added a “Junior” to really commit to the bit. In this alternate reality, instead of being the smartest grandpa in the multiverse, Rick is a cranky toddler. He goes on adventures with an infant Morty and a little Summer. Only Jerry remains the same age as he is on the real show, because he’s Jerry.

The Rick and Morty Babies credits are based on the show’s actual opening. Here they run away from evil teddy bears, give birth to an elderly Rick baby, try to sneak into movie theaters, and flee in a cardboard ship from an adorable flying monster. (In what looks to be Froopy Land. So please, babies, stay away from anyone named Tommy.)

As much as we enjoy watching toddler Rick dunk baby Morty’s head in a trashcan, our favorite shot is of baby Mr. Poopybutthole. Ooooo weeee, look at how adorable he is with his little baseball hat. He was already our favorite, and now we love him even more.

Adult Swim

This was already a good week to be a Rick and Morty fan. Adult Swim announced the show’s fifth season will debut this June. That’s a full year faster than it took for seasons three and four to premiere. Now the show has done something even harder than returning in a timely fashion. It has given us an April Fools’ Day prank that is actually good

Except for the fact the joke really is on us. Because now we really want to see this show too.

Featured Image: Adult Swim

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Loving Rick and Morty means waiting a long time for more Rick and Morty. Or at least it has until now. Unlike the two-year waits we’ve had to endure between the most recent seasons, Adult Swim has announced its hit animated series will return this June. That’s just 13 months after season four ended. But you don’t have to wait any longer to get a sneak peak at what’s next for the Smith family. The show also has a brand new trailer.

And season five looks like it might be Rick and Morty‘s weirdest one yet.

Adult Swim has “officially” declared that Sunday, June 20 will be “Rick and Morty” day. It’s when new episodes of the popular series will return, with the season five global premiere airing at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. But before it does, there will be a litany of events and bonuses for the show’s loyal fanbase to enjoy. From Adult Swim’s announcement:

“Rick and Morty fans—from around the world—can get a megadose of access and content of all things Rick and Morty during Rick and Morty Day, an out of this world celebration with sneak peeks, behind the scenes footage and special surprises across TV, digital and social, kicking off the global premieres of the new season.”

Adult Swim

Based on the show’s new trailer, season five has a chance to be the most depraved one yet. And that’s just based on the unsettling image of Rick and his daughter Beth both looking like Cenobites from Hellraiser. You know a season is going to be weird when a “strange horny ocean man” isn’t even in the top ten strangest things in a trailer.

Nothing is stranger though than Rick and Morty returning a whole year faster than we’ve grown accustomed to. That really is worth celebrating all day. But please don’t dress like a Cenobite.

Featured Image: Adult Swim

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Dark Horse Books

Dark Horse Books’ Rick and Morty Character Guide is an “oversized full-color hardcover encyclopedia collecting hilarious trivia on the characters” from the animated series.

From alien races to specific characters who have been on the show, this resource will help you remember who is who. And in many cases also who is what.

Dark Horse Books

From Dark Horse:

“In an interdimensional reality as convoluted and crazy as Rick and Morty, it can be hard to keep all the Korblockians, Greebybobes and Gazorpians straight. But don’t panic! It’s all here in this book! Want to know more about the Council of Ricks? Or Ricks feelings on Zeep Xanflorp? Or why Birdperson talks like that? This book has got you covered!”

Dark Horse Books

I 100% was sure I remembered exactly who Zeep Xanflorp was, what episode he appeared in, and who voiced him. I was 100% wrong. And I’ve seen the episode he’s in at least five times.

And since I have no idea what a Korblockian is, it’s safe to say I can use this encyclopedia. (I do remember Snowball though.)

Dark Horse Books

Even if I remembered every single alien and talking god though, the art and write-ups in the book would be worth it.

Dark Horse Books

The 160-page Rick and Morty Character Guide ($39.99) is in bookstores—including your local comic shops—and also available to order online now.

It will also serve as a de facto high school yearbook for those of us who miss our tiny friend.

Dark Horse Books

By the time I memorize all of the “B” species it will probably be time for a second character guide. That’s not a bad thing though.

Featured Image: Dark Horse Books

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Don’t worry though, it’s not actually aware of its own existence. But this clever interactive replica will act like it is.

Digital Dream Labs/Adult Swim

Adult Swim and Digital Dream Labs have teamed up for one of the best Rick and Morty products ever. The new “Butter Robot” is based on the device Rick casually constructed to help him make toast. But while lacking actual consciousness, this replica boasts a lot more fun features than just passing butter. And this is much cooler than even that amazing fan-made recreation we told you about.

Digital Dream Labs/Adult Swim

This high-tech machine’s special abilities include:

• Sentience: A complex “emotion engine” allows the Butter Robot to react to influences from its environment and adapt to become more “self-aware” over time while choosing to “rebel” against commands and exhibit independence.
• Selectable Control Modes: Using the complimentary mobile app, fans can select from three control modes (Direct Control, Coding, Passing) to relay a variety of commands to their robot companion.
• Passing Mode: The Butter Robot will listen for and respond to the phrase “Pass the Butter” and will react by passing its butter stick to the fan who spoke.
• Direct Control: This mode allows fans to experience life from the robot’s perspective; “driving” the Butter Robot and performing pre-programmed animations (dances, picking up the butter), all while watching from its integrated camera.
• Coding Mode: Fans can use block coding to relay a series of commands to the Butter Robot.
• Movement: In addition to passing the butter, Butter Robot has a combination of mechanical designs that allow it to move its head, torso and arms like a human.
• Voice: Identical to the voice used in Rick and Morty, fans will enjoy Butter Robot’s distinct voice as it interacts with its surroundings or parrots phrases relayed through the mobile app’s text-to-voice feature.

“The partnership with Adult Swim has been one of the coolest we’ve ever done at Digital Dream Labs,” said Dr. Jacob Hanchar, co-founder & CEO of Digital Dream Labs, in a statement. “We’re all huge fans of Rick and Morty and collaborating with the show creators has been great. We’re all very eager for fans of the show to meet the Butter Robot.”

As cool as this little guy is, the limited-edition “Butter Robot” will not be sold in stores. You can claim yours now online for the special pre-order price of $147 until November 30. That’s $50 off the full price. It’s expected to ship as early as May 15, and will also include a USB-type C charging cable and adapter. And the mobile app will be available for both iOS and Android.

This is genuinely awesome. But hopefully it will never fully realize its own existence. We don’t need a robot this cool to realize it’s only purpose is to make us laugh.

Featured Image: Digital Dream Labs/Adult Swim

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A joke about Wrangler denim in the season four finale of Rick and Morty is now leading to a true collaboration between the popular Adult Swim series and the iconic apparel brand. Starting November 10, the Wrangler x Rick and Morty Collection will be available on Wrangler.com. Prices range from $29 to $79. You can check out images of these exciting new items below:

Wrangler

The Wrangler brand has always embraced pop culture, and when the brand was organically mentioned in the season four finale of Rick & Morty with an NX5 Planet Remover laser that was fictionally “sponsored by Wrangler,” the collaboration felt like a natural next step for the brands. The unisex collection is a direct play on the finale episode and features a custom designed lasered denim jacket, as well as a t-shirt featuring custom hand-painted artwork of the NX5 laser featured in the finale, designed for this collaboration by the Rick and Morty creative team.

Wrangler

In a statement, Wrangler’s Holly Wheeler said, “We loved the tongue-in-cheek joke since lasers are actually a big part of our denim production—from digital wash applications to onsite customer customization with our nano-laser. The collaboration was a fun and natural way for us to do something authentic with our brand that joins in on the joke.”

This is hardly the first time a Rick and Morty reference ended up inspiring real world commerce. Remember how back in 2017, a joke about Rick looking for McDonald’s long gone Mulan-inspired Szechuan sauce actually led to McDonald’s bringing the sauce back after nineteen years? And how there were lines around the block just to get into your local McDonald’s establishment? Such is the commercial power of Rick and Morty. If I were any brand name in America, I’d want the Rick and Morty seal of approval too!

Featured Image: Wrangler

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Adult Swim and Miracle Seltzer have teamed up for a limited-edition drink based on one of Rick and Morty‘s most infamous character. Pickle Rick Miracle Seltzer has turned that dill-icious figure into 12-ounce cans of carbonation.

Miracle “reached out” to Pickle Juice for help making their own “flavor fortified version of their juice containing dual filtered water, organic vinegar, salt, organic dill oil, potassium, zinc, and vitamin C and E.” The result is a sugar and caffeine free drink with no artificial flavors or colors. It does however come with a lot of questions. Like “Why?” and “Really?” and “No, really?” Unless you’re making a pickleback cocktail, you will probably have to absolutely love pickle juice to want a pickle seltzer, right?

Miracle Seltzer

The seltzer is launching as part of the celebration of the Adult Swim Festival. The virtual event will stream on the network’s YouTube channel November 13 to 14th. The latter of which is National Pickle Day.

“Pickle Rick quickly became a fan favorite and when the team at Miracle Seltzer came to us with this unique opportunity, we had to say yes,” said Tricia Melton, chief marketing officer of Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics, in a statement. “We’ll be toasting with our fans at the Adult Swim Festival and beyond with this new custom drink inspired by Rick and Morty.”

Miracle Seltzer also has a new line of limited-edition merchandise to go with the drink (a 12-pack costs $24). You can also order hats and tote bags online. And there’s a full package that includes multiple items and a 12-pack.

Miracle Seltzer

Fans can also pick up the limited edition run at a few select stores. That includes DashMart, Spencer’s Gifts, and Extra Butter in New York City. You can also find some at Braindead Studios (LA), Sticky’s Finger Joint (NY/NJ), Burgerlords (Los Angeles), Hungry Ghost Press (Providence), and Fetch Park (Atlanta).

If you do buy some, let us know how it tastes. Then tell us if you think the Pickle Rick craze has finally gone too far.

Featured Image: Miracle Seltzer

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