A new era of Rick and Morty began on Sunday night, with the show’s first episode since the ouster of cocreator Justin Roiland. Season seven of the hit Adult Swim series unveiled the new voices of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, two characters previously voiced by Roiland. Those duties will now be split by newcomers Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden, who portray Rick and Morty, respectively. The premiere’s opening also omit the typical credit “created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon,” opting to show the show’s logo instead.
Roiland departed from the show earlier this year amid allegations of workplace toxicity and since-dismissed charges of domestic violence. Roiland, who was also replaced by Dan Stevens as the lead character voice on Hulu’s animated series Solar Opposites, has denied more recent allegations of sexual misconduct.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the show’s new leads, Harmon and showrunner showrunner Scott Marder detailed their “pretty rigorous process” for replacing Roiland, which spanned six months and thousands of performers. “It almost went so wide that we debated doing a global hotline,” Marder said, “though we knew it would wind up being a prank line.”
The duo said they decided fairly early into the search that the characters of Rick and his grandfather Morty should be played by two different actors. “For sheer quality of life, it’d be easier for the amount of work required for both characters,” Marder said. “We watched it over the years wear down on Roiland’s voice. It felt unfair to do that to someone.” Added Harmon, “In retrospect, it’s also smart because we want the fan experience to continue with as little disruption as possible. In a weird way, catering to the idea that there’s been a replacement of a single human being—an auteur—is going to play into the disruption factor. We really want people to keep believing these characters are real.”
Pressure to recast the roles was exacerbated by a stunning 70-episode renewal back in 2018 by Adult Swim. “The high-class problem that Harmon and I had was that we were writing season nine—seasons beyond where we’re at right now,” Marder explained. “So it didn’t feel like the tone for the show could magically change. We wrote consistently the same show and we needed the voices to be the same.”
By casting two actors who are relatively early in their careers, Marder said Cardoni and Belden have “brought this show 30 more years,” adding, “We just got these eager, young guys who are so excited to attack every episode.” And instead of making meta references to past controversy, Harmon said the show is squarely focused on its future. “Our metric of absolute success in the transition would be if the hypothetical casual viewer who was out of the loop on any behind-the-scenes drama about the show were to keep right on watching it and say, ‘This season’s better than the other on’ or ‘This may be my favorite episode,’” Harmon said. “If that person is able to continue their journey from the womb to the tomb with Rick and Morty and a furniture-like stability, that is the best we can do in this particular job.”
California prosecutors have dismissed felony domestic violence charges against Justin Roiland, co-creator of the animated comedy Rick and Morty, almost two months after he was dropped from the show.
“We dismissed the charges today because there was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt,” said Orange County district attorney’s spokeswoman Kimberly Edds on Wednesday.
Roiland, 43, was facing one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud or deceit in connection with an alleged January 2020 incident involving a former girlfriend. After the charges came to light, Roiland was dropped by Adult Swim and Hulu Originals, affecting a variety of television shows he was involved in.
Roiland celebrated the dismissal, tweeting “justice” along with a statement.
“I have always known that these claims were false — and I never had any doubt that this day would come,” he wrote. “I’m thankful that this case has been dismissed but, at the same time, I’m still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process.”
Roiland added that he was “disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of a bitter ex trying to bypass due process and have me ‘canceled.’”
Roiland was charged back in May 2020 and pleaded not guilty. The charges went unnoticed by media outlets until Roiland’s case went to a pre-trial hearing this January.
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When the domestic violence charges became public, Adult Swim, which airs Rick and Morty, announced it had cut ties with Roiland. Along with being a co-creator with Dan Harmon, Roiland also provided the voice acting for the show’s two titular characters. The network said they would recast his roles and Rick and Morty would continue without him.
Hulu Originals, which produced two other animated series that Roiland worked on, Solar Opposites and Koala Man, announced at the time that it had also dropped Roiland and would recast his roles.
Adult Swim and Hulu Originals have both declined to comment on Roiland’s charges being dropped.
Roiland’s lawyer, T. Edward Welbourn, wrote that he’s “thankful justice has prevailed.”
“I commend the Orange County district attorney’s office for conducting a thorough review of the facts and deciding to dismiss the case against Justin,” he added in a statement to Variety.
Roiland noted on Twitter that he is “determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.”
— With files from The Associated Press
Adnan Syed’s criminal charges dropped over new DNA testing results
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Global News and Adult Swim (Canada) are both properties of Corus Entertainment.
Yesterday, the news dropped that Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland had not only been dropped from the hit TV show by Adult Swim, but also that he was resigning from High on Life studio Squanch Games, which he co-founded. This all comes as Roiland faces two felony domestic abuse charges from 2020. Instead of leaving Adult Swim high and dry as it faces the challenge of carrying on Rick and Morty without the man who voiced a great many of its characters, a sizeable chunk of fans took it upon themselves to submit mock audition tapes for the now-vacant roles of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith.
Prior to the shitstorm of Justin Roiland news revelations, Roiland voiced a multitude of voices in Rick and Morty and in last year’s Game Pass hit, High on Life. Back in 2018, while Rick and Morty was in its third season, Adult Swim forged a long-term deal with creators Dan Harmon and Roiland for 70 additional new episodes of the adult animated series, according to Deadline. Following yesterday’s news, The Hollywood Reporter has said that Roiland’s voice roles will be re-cast and Dan Harmon will remain the sole showrunner through season 10.
Like the old adage of uncertainty breeding opportunity, Rick and Morty fans are throwing their hat in the ring by submitting audition tapes for its titular characters. Unlike the “Get Schwifty” episode of Rick and Morty (fuck me for remembering that), candidates by and large aren’t taking the auditions seriously, which is honestly pretty on brand for Roiland’s vocal performances. Here are a couple of standout performances that would make Cromulon nod in approval.
Now that I’ve sent my editor an email for financial compensation for the emotional damage writing this article has dealt me, I’d like to earmark two alternative solutions for Rick and Morty’s “lack of a lotta voiced roles” situation.
Twitter user Shinimomi suggested Rick and Morty take a page out of the prolific comedy anime series Pop Team Epic’s book by having random celebrities voice characters every episode. That way Adult Swim can keep things fresh by having a pool of notable actors (preferably those who aren’t alleged sex pests) rotate throughout the show’s next “100 Years.”
“Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland,” Adult Swim senior vice-president of communications Marie Moore wrote in a statement Tuesday.
Rick and Morty is one of Adult Swim’s most popular titles, and Roiland voices both of the titular characters — leaving the future of the show uncertain. Adult Swim green-lit Rick and Morty for a massive 10-season commitment in 2018 and the show just finished its sixth season in December 2022.
Two weeks ago, news broke that Roiland, 42, had been charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud or deceit in Orange County, Calif. The complainant is an unnamed woman who was Roiland’s girlfriend and living with him at the time.
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Roiland was charged in May 2020, a few months after police say the incident occurred. He pleaded not guilty.
The charges didn’t see media coverage at the time. Then, on Jan. 12, Roiland’s case went to a pre-trial hearing, bringing the allegations back into the public eye.
In a statement earlier this month, Roiland’s lawyer T. Edward Welbourn said, “not only is Justin innocent but we also have every expectation that this matter is on course to be dismissed once the district attorney’s office has completed its methodical review of the evidence.”
Roiland is next expected to be in court on April 27.
According to a post from the animated sitcom’s Twitter page, Rick and Morty will continue without Roiland. Sources told the Hollywood Reporter that Roiland’s roles will be recast and fellow co-creator Dan Harmon will go forward as the lone showrunner. Roiland will remain credited as a co-creator, the sources added.
On Wednesday, Hulu and 20th Television Animation announced that it had also ended its association with Roiland, in a statement made to Variety. Roiland co-created two animated series for Hulu, Solar Opposites and Koala Man, both of which will continue without his involvement.
Technology is making it harder to escape domestic abuse
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Adult Swim Canada and Global News are both properties of Corus Entertainment.
Justin Roiland, the co-creator of Rick And Morty and the voice of both title characters, faces some pretty troubling domestic violence charges. While not all the details of the case are public just yet, the charges stem from an incident that took place back in 2020, between Roiland and an unknown party who was dating Roiland at the time.
The charges consist of two felonies. There’s one count of domestic battery with corporeal injury, while the other is false imprisonment by fraud, menace, violence, and/or deceit. In October 2020, Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges. He was subsequently released on a bond of $50,000. There have been upwards of ten hearings regarding the case so far, but an official trial has yet to materialize. As of now, there’s no official date yet either.
According to NBC News, a protective order was also filed against Roiland in 2020, which included a number of rules that Roiland must obey. These include one that’s meant to prevent Roiland from harassing, threatening, or surveilling the other party. Another is that Roiland can’t physically come within 100 feet of the other party. Roiland also had to hand in any firearms he may have owned to the court.
Roiland’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn has commented on the case. “We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible … It is hard to overstate how inaccurate the recent media coverage of this situation has been. To be clear, not only is Justin innocent but we also have every expectation that this matter is on course to be dismissed once the district attorney’s office has completed its methodical review of the evidence. We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible.”
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Justin Roiland, the co-creator and main voice actor of animated TV series Rick and Morty, is facing trial for allegedly assaulting a former girlfriend in 2020.
The criminal complaint, which was first reported by NBC News, charges Roiland, 42, with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit.
The alleged victim is a woman who was living with Roiland at the time, the Guardian reports, though she has not been identified.
Roiland was charged back in May 2020, a few months after police say the incident occurred. He pleaded not guilty — but the charges didn’t see widespread media coverage. On Thursday, Roiland’s case went to a pre-trial hearing, which brought the allegations back into the public eye.
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“We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible,” wrote Roiland’s lawyer, T. Edward Welbourn, in a statement.
Details about the January 2020 incident that led to Roiland’s charges have not been made public under a protective order. The affidavit that supported Roiland’s arrest is also sealed.
Roiland is set to return to court in April, though a trial date has not been set.
Alongside Dan Harmon, Roiland co-created an animated sci-fi sitcom about mad scientist Rick and his meek grandson Morty, both of whom are voiced by Roiland. The show has run for six seasons and will return for a seventh on Adult Swim.
Since the 2020 charges, Roiland’s career has seen few consequences.
In 2020, he won an Emmy for Rick and Morty and was again recognized for the show in 2022 by the Hollywood Critics Choice Association.
Roiland’s animated series for Hulu, Solar Opposites, debuted in 2020 and was renewed for a fifth season in October 2022. He has since created another TV series for Hulu, Koala Man, which was released this year.
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Roiland has also released two NFT collections, which have sold for millions.
Technology is making it harder to escape domestic abuse
Justin Roiland, creator of TV series Rick and Morty and the recently released High on Life game, has been charged with domestic violence against a former girlfriend.
NBC News reports that it obtained Orange County Superior Court records stating that a criminal complaint was filed against Roiland back in May 2020 by the Orange County District Attorney. The complaint charges Roiland with “one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit.” Roiland was arrested and released with a $50,000 bond in August 2020 and pleaded not guilty to both charges in October of that same year.
According to NBC News the victim says the incident between herself and Roiland occurred around Jan. 19 of that year. A protective order was filed in October 2020, which states that Roiland can not harass, threaten, surveil, or be within 100 feet of an unknown person protected under the order. The order also made Roiland relinquish ownership of any firearms he owned or possessed. The order lasts until October 2023. According to NBC News, Roiland is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a pre-trial hearing.
This news comes shortly after the release of High on Life, a first-person shooter game created by Roiland’s video game company, Squanch Games. Despite the game’s popularity on Game Pass, Xbox’s Netflix-like game subscription service, it’s been at the center of controversy for its use of an AI generator to create poster art and vocal performances. Prior to High on Life’s release on December 13, Roiland launched two NFT projects in 2021 and 2022 called The Best I Could Do and Art Gobblers.
If you’re into Rick and Morty-style humor and enjoy a good first-person shooter with some unique guns, High on Life is a damn good time. While High on Life is a fairly easy game to fire up and jump into—made even easier by the fact that it’s on Game Pass right now—there are a few things to keep in mind while romping around through space, blasting evil alien cartel members to dust.
The latest from studio Squanch Games, High on Life is available now on Xbox One, Xbox X and S, and PC. With the mind and voice of Justin Roiland fully on display, High on Life contains much of what many love (or hate) about shows like Rick and Morty. Despite a few glaring bugs and some jokes that don’t know when to stop, it’s a fun shooter that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is a great change of pace for the genre.
Pick your poison: This is a good time while under the influence
Yes, yes, I know. It’s the game everyone jokes about getting stoned before playing, but honestly, it’s pretty good advice.
High on Life contains a certain brand of humor that comes across well while you’re in an altered state of consciousness. More than that, it’s a visual and auditory treat only heightened by substances that make colors and sounds pop. High on Life is very vibrant, with many great textures, making it splendid for moments where you just want to melt into a colorful, bouncy, wise-cracking trip.
The humor may not be for everyone, but if you love getting blasted and having a fun time with a video game, there are few games that hit this spot right now while quite High on Life.
It’s a camera. For your car. The Ring Car Cam’s dual-facing HD cameras capture activity in and around your car in HD detail.
Turn the music up!
This soundtrack kicks ass. There’s some twisted, fucked up synth shit that is just a damn joy to listen to. Electronic musician Tobacco produced the music for High on Life, and it fits the mood and feel of the game so damn well.
The default music volume setting, however, is way too low. I cranked it up all the way during my playthrough and it was a delight for the ears the whole way through, though you might find you’ll want to flip the subtitles on if you do. If you’re not into the humor or find the gameplay to be too generic, do yourself a favor and check out the soundtrack at least. It really is great.
The game needs a content warning
It’s 2023, and it’s about time we expect more from devs when it comes to giving us a heads up about the content in their games. High on Life got a ton of laughs out of me, while other jokes felt rather tasteless. I wish the game would’ve given a bit of a heads up about certain topics.
High on Life contains a good chunk of drug and substance abuse references. It also makes some jokes about self-harm. The very absurd and fictional plot also talks liberally about the enslavement of various alien species.
Many who are familiar with Rick and Morty likely knew what to expect going into High on Life, but with an informative content warning (which, hey, wouldn’t that be a cool standard for Game Pass games or something?), it could help set the table so you could be in the mood for weapons that beg you to turn them on yourself.
Gif: Squanch Games / Kotaku
Keep an eye out for Knifey’s zipline and grapple prompt
I’m not sure how a game that makes as many video game jokes as High on Life delivered a 16-hour campaign where you zip around on rails without making a single BioShock Infinite joke (and if it did, I certainly missed it). There are an awful amount of opportunities for you to zip around the map like you’re out to save some weird girl haunted by her strange pet bird thing.
That said, it can be a little tricky to spot when and where you can do this. The HUD is helpful in indicating where a rail or climbable spot is, but it can be deceptive. While a circular icon will hover over a usable zip line, you can’t actually grab on until you see the actual button prompt (E on keyboard, LB on controller) in the circle.
Learning to spot this indicator will help you zoom around maps even faster.
Always be swappin’Gif: Squanch Games / Kotaku
Screw reloading, cycle your weapons
Once I had all four main Gatlians, High on Life began to feel a lot like the Resistance shooters on PS3. If you liked those games, at least in concept, then you know the value of juggling weapons constantly. As I mentioned in my guide for beating Nipulon, cycling your weapons when they’re out of ammo is a better use of your time than reloading them, especially since all the Gatlians reload themselves while you have another one equipped.
I like to start each round of combat by aiming a Gatlian’s trickhole shot (this also gives you a quick window of bullet time to line up your aim), firing it off, and then emptying its magazine into enemies before swapping to the next gun and repeating the same process. Master this and you’ll almost never stop outputting damage. It’s a lot of fun.
If you’re stoned out of your mind, consider Story Mode. But Normal and Hunter aren’t too much of a challenge
As I said above, High on Life is just a good game to tune in and zone out too. The story is silly and not really that serious beyond a handful of delicate topics; and the gameplay has more depth than you’d assume. But the best part is that it prioritizes fun in a way that shooters sometimes forget to.
It can be a pretty passive shooter if you want it to be. If you’re just looking for a chill time with some goofy aliens who make you laugh, flip it on story mode.
But for those of us who like a bit of a challenge in a first-person shooter, you probably should just jump to the hardest difficulty. I almost finished my first full playthrough on this, but the Skrendel Bros. proved a difficulty spike I couldn’t get along with—at least in the state my poor brain was in. As a result, I played the remainder of the campaign after that fight in Normal mode.
You can hit Gus’ disc to keep it moving
J.B. Smoove’s character, Gus, is your shotgun and disc launcher. That disc will ricochet around the room, causing a bad time for anyone in its way. But blink and you’ll miss the melee prompt on it when it moves near you.
Keep an eye out for the button prompt to smack the disc with Knifey to get more use out of Gus’ trickhole shot.
Zip around like it’s Halo 5, minus fighting the same boss three damn times.Gif: Squanch Games / Kotaku
At its height, High on Life is like a Ratchet and Clank and Halo 5 space brownie
That last mention may make you close this tab. Don’t! One of the coolest aspects of High on Life is the movement abilities plus the versatile guns. With the ability to jet pack and hover in the air, it reminds me of Halo 5’s advanced but underpraised movement techniques. The versatile weapons, as mentioned, remind me of Insomniac’s Resistance or Ratchet and Clank. Maybe there’s a dash of Bulletstorm somewhere in there, too.
At the higher difficulties, you’re going to want to make the most out of that movement. Prepare to dash liberally; and once you can zoom around and hover with the jet pack, you’ll find it’s essential for staying alive.
Sadly, by the time the whole ensemble comes together, the game starts to wind down its campaign. While it lasts, though, it’s a ton of fun. So if you like experimental shooters, definitely give this one a spin.
Don’t miss the upgrades in the pawn shop
I mean, I can’t imagine why you’d have a hard time spotting tiny details in a game like this, but you should keep an eye out for the Gatlian upgrades and mods you can get at the pawn shop in Blim City.
It took nearly the entire game for me to realize you could buy these…don’t be like me. Screenshot: Squanch Games / Kotaku
Each of the rectangular cardboard boxes behind the shelves have unique upgrades that enhance the abilities of your guns, giving them larger magazines or augmenting their trickhole shots as a few examples.
There are also some upgrades for your bounty hunter suit, including one that lets you zoom around when sliding like you’re playing Vanquish. How can you not use this?
Don’t forget to go back and explore previous areas
High on Life is a bit of a metroidvania kinda jam. Early on, you’ll spot items and locations that you can’t get to quite yet. As you progress through the story, you’ll unlock new movement abilities that’ll let you explore a bit more. Keep an eye out for this stuff and don’t forget to go back!
Learn to follow the waypoints
Given the altered state you may or may not be in while playing High on Life, you might be prone to getting lost. By hitting the ping button, you can highlight a waypoint. If you’re lost in a blur of colors for whatever reason, the waypoint will guide you to where you need to go, but it can be a easy to miss.
High on Life’s waypoints move through different “checkpoints.” Once you follow it to a certain point, you’ll see it turn into a check before moving to highlight an area further along. If you’re lost in any of the game’s trippy environments, just follow those markers until it begins to make more sense.
Listen to all the dialogue and take in all of the comedy
High on Life is a comedy game, one where taking in the ambience of absurdity is as much the point as firing silly, talking guns. Don’t rush through the game, and take opportunities to observe the weird and wacky things around you.
Like an RPG where you should probably talk to every NPC you see, you should take the time to listen to all the humor Squanch Games packed in here. Characters will say some wild things, and you’ll participate in some genuinely funny and uncertain moments that are sometimes as surprising as they are humorous.
Some folks out there are even beginning to discover that the various dialogue options you get in the game do lead to some different outcomes for NPCs. So don’t rush. Immerse yourself in the absurdity of this game.
Who knows? You might even find it a little cathartic given how absurd our world is anyway.
Have you ever found yourself paying for over-salted food and overpriced drinks at an Applebee’s and thought: “What if I just stayed here…forever?” Well, a bug making the rounds in the Rick and Morty-adjacent shooter High On Life is allowing such a macabre fantasy to come true.
Released earlier this month on Xbox and PC, High On Life is a shooter steeped in the wacky comedic stylings of Rick and Morty. Developed by Squanch Games, a studio founded by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland himself, the game is about as loud and obnoxious as you’d expect. Despite obnoxiously bright colors and talking guns capable of delivering a headache or two, the game has soared to the top of Game Pass’s most-played titles. Recently, players have been finding themselves trapped in the game’s rendition of well-known American chain restaurant Applebee’s. It’s a bug for sure, but one that feels fittingly on-point for such an absurd and silly game.
“TRAPPED IN SPACE APPLEBEE’S!!” starts one Reddit thread on High On Life’s subreddit. “Hey guy’s, I love Applebee’s. Like fucking LOVE it. I thought Space Applebee’s would be better (AND IT IS!!) but I am stuck inside. This is my checkpoint, trapped inside with the 2 for $25 for all eternity. Anyone know a way out?? Plz help,” the post continues.
Searching “Applebee’s stuck” or “Applebee’s trapped High On Life” on either High On Life’s subreddit, or Twitter, yields similar pleas for help. A few have even captured some footage to share the struggle.
Others who have managed to escape are finding themselves teleported back into the Applebee’s. “Before going home I saved a human outside of the Applebee’s, I got teleported by accident to the sanctuary then I was teleported back where I was, got killed almost instantly and now I’m stuck in the Applebee’s because the door won’t open.”
In addition to asking Squanch Games for comment, Kotaku has reached out to Applebee’s to find out what one should do if you find yourself in a similar situation.
