Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland was recently cleared of felony domestic battery charges, but the actor remains mired in controversy.
After news of the actor's arrest was made public, a series of damaging allegations and resurfaced offensive comments did the rounds, with additional claims of misconduct behind the scenes which painted a poor picture of the sort of person Roiland is. With that in mind, it's hardly a surprise one set of allegations being dropped isn't enough for Adult Swim to let him return to the show.
Talking to Premiere during a recent appearance at the Annecy International Festival (via Toonado.com), Cartoon Network President Michael Ouweleen and Rick and Morty producer Steve Levy confirmed they're still in the process of recasting Rick, Morty, and every other character portrayed by Roiland across the course of the series.
It's said that Roiland "will be replaced in dubbing" during post-production for Season 7, while Levy was quick to point out that he doesn't believe the change in voice actors will ultimately hurt the experience of watching the show.
"The writing quality has never been better, and all the screenwriters have stayed," he explained. "I don't think anyone will bat an eyelid hearing the new voices."
An argument could be made that Roiland is irreplaceable as both the title character and others he lent his voice to over the years, but Ouweleen believes "it is possible" viewers won't even know the difference (suggesting the title duo won't sound that different when we next see them).
He added, "It's looking good. It's a rather unique situation. I'll take an example: there have been several great Bugs Bunny voice actors, and I love what Jeff Bennett has done with them. But it's not Mel Blanc! And yet we recognize the character."
We'll see how things go, but considering the fact Roiland has reportedly taken a back seat in recent years from a creative standpoint, Rick and Morty not actually missing him is a very real possibility.
Rick and Morty season 7 is expected to premiere on Adult Swim later this year.