Adult Swim Cuts Ties With Justin Roiland: Rick and Morty Lead Characters To Be Re-Cast

Instead of waiting on whether or not Justin Roiland would be found innocent following domestic abuse charges that were filed in 2020, Adult Swim has opted to part ways with the creator of Rick and Morty and are planning to recast the starring roles of the series for what will be for the remainder of the show’s 70 ordered episodes. Four more seasons are still in various stages of production and Dan Harmon will now be the lone showrunner of the series. No word yet on 20th Television Animation’s future with Justin will be who, as of now, is still part of the fifth season of Solar Opposites which is currently in production for Hulu.

Our Take

It should be noted, Justin has not been found guilty of any charges, and his lawyer T. Edward Welbourn not only maintains his client’s innocence, but that even the original reports from a week or so ago are being blown out of proportion in terms of accuracy and that there is confidence Justin will be cleared of all charges at his April 27th hearing.

Having said that, we are still in a cancel culture era of “guilty no matter what” and if Adult Swim’s handling of the final episodes of Squidbillies are any indication, then I’m totally confident that the network will screw up the handling of casting the lead roles. Personally, I think the show should just be canceled now and no I’m not convinced of any of the voices that were featured as part of this GQ bit.

I’m hoping David Zaslav will override this decision and extend the same olive branch that he did for JK Rowling and not listen to the lynch mob that is Twitter. At the end of the day, if Justin really is innocent, then Adult Swim should recant its decision.