‘Rick and Morty’ Season 7 Trailer Teases New Character Voices, But Fans Still Have One Little Frustration

Adult Swim is keeping the new Rick & Morty voice actor(s) under wraps, despite unveiling a “first listen” in the Season 7 trailer. The anticipation, while probably producing great results for the network, is driving the fan community mad and has seen the creation of several theories, such as Justin Roiland being replaced by artificial intelligence and his longtime collaborator Eric Bauza taking over the role. 

The trailer, just under two minutes, teases the soundalikes who replaced co-creator Roiland after he was ousted due to domestic violence charges. Plenty of new adventures are expected in the upcoming season, set to release on October 15, 2023, including the return of “Pickle Rick” therapist Dr. Wong, famously played by Susan Sarandon. 

Fans seemed impressed with the new character voices, and noted that they sounded nearly identical to Roiland’s original work, aside from certain modulations in Rick’s voice when he screams or expresses excitement. Nonetheless, it’s a win for the show’s legacy after Roiland’s other adult animated series Solar Opposites received mixed reception for replacing him with a British actor. 

One fan wrote on social media, “You can hear like a small difference with Rick but Morty is like terrifyingly spot on,” and another agreed, sharing, “Doesn’t sound bad: sounds almost exactly like him. Can’t wait to watch the new season.” On the opposite end of the spectrum, a critic expressed that they were wanting the show to go “in a different direction,” saying they would’ve “preferred them just doing something completely different like they did with Solar Opposites.” Though, Rick & Morty has a much larger and more passionate following than Solar Opposites, so it makes sense that they’d want to stick as close to the original voices as possible. 

Viewers commenting on Adult Swim’s YouTube video of the trailer — which has garnered over 13K likes in less than an hour — are also surprisingly optimistic, with one calling the new voices “fantastic” and another expressing their confidence that the new voices will “grow into the roles over time.”

Following the release of the trailer, The Hollywood Reporter noted that keeping the new voice actor(s) under wraps was an “unusual” move, and spoke with an Adult Swim insider who claimed, “We want the show to speak for itself… We believe in the strength of the season and our new voices and we want to preserve the viewing experience for fans.”

Given the positive response to the trailer, it’s clear that the new season has much in store for fans, and maybe now that they see how disarmed the community feels regarding the recasting, they’ll consider spilling the beans about the new voice actor(s) before the anticipated release. But until then, “Wubba-lubba-dub-dub!”

Rick & Morty Season 7 premieres October 15, 2023 on Adult Swim.