Rick and Morty creators admit recasting Justin Roiland was a struggle for Season 7

Rick and Morty creators have revealed the long and tiresome process they underwent in order to find the best voices when recasting the titular characters of the show, explaining how they auditioned thousands of “Macho Man” sounding actors before settling on the new cast.

In January 2023, Dexerto reported that Justin Roiland, one of the creators of the beloved Adult Swim series Rick and Morty, had been arrested in Orange County, California, on a count of felony domestic assault dating back to 2020. 

Although the charges were later dropped, the network decided to part ways with him, leaving co-creator Dan Harmon to take up the mantle and lead the charge. 

Part of the process for replacing Roiland in Season 7 meant finding new voice actors to take on the roles of Rick and Morty, as he previously voiced them both.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harmon and showrunner Scott Marder revealed that the audition process to find the next Rick and Morty voices was a long and difficult one and that many of those who came in to read for the part simply sounded like “Macho Man.”

“Rick was a lot harder than I expected; everyone sounded like Macho Man Randy Savage or like a cousin of his,” began Marder. “No one sounded exactly like Rick. It was tricky. People had it in splashes but once you bring them back in, they couldn’t do it conversationally, which is what we needed. It was exhaustive.”

However, the two were eventually able to find their new Rick and Morty, with actors Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden taking on the roles for season 7. However, finding them was no easy feat.

Rick and Morty creators auditioned thousands of actors over 6 months

Marder revealed that they auditioned thousands of actors when trying to find new replacements. “We heard thousands. It went on for six months. It was really wide.

“It almost went so wide that we debated doing a global hotline though we knew it would wind up being a prank line. We felt like we needed to go that far and wide. It was harder than we thought. I thought it’d have been easier.”

Marder also noted that, for himself and Harmon, it was important that the fanbase felt as though the recasting of Rick and Morty was organic and that the change didn’t take away from the viewing experience.

“I felt like a lot of people didn’t necessarily know what went down this year so for all those people who are just tuning in to the show as if nothing has changed, I wanted them to have the maximum fan experience they could have without any distraction,” he said. “The goal was always to try to preserve the viewing experience and give them the same show they’ve had every other season.”

For all the latest Rick and Morty news and updates, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.