Adult Swim’sRick and Mortydebuted in 2013 and has gone on to become a significant part of pop culture. The iconic titular duo of Rick and Morty are about to embark on their eighth season of adventures, which will once again take them on a dimension-skipping whirlwind ride. Blending witty, cutting humor with sci-fi elements that explore complex subject matter like string theory, the show continues to be a unique offering in theanimated comedy landscape.
Game Rant recently sat down with Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden, who have voicedRick and Morty, respectively, since the beginning of season 7. They discussed the new elements that their characters get to explore in season eight, but ultimately, the two characters have been through their fair share of unlikely scenarios and that isn’t going to change any time soon.
Rick and Morty Have Both Grown as Characters
When Rick and Morty originally burst onto viewers' screens, they seemed like a constantly drunk, crass old scientist and his scared, emotional teenage grandson on the surface. While these tropes haven’t completely evaporated since (and nor should they), both characters have been on significant emotional journeys over the years.Rick and Morty have many more layers to their characters than initially perceived. On Rick in particular, Cardoni said,
‘‘We’ve definitely seen Rick on a journey, particularly the last few seasons. In season seven, I had just gotten married, so a lot of that was stuff that I could bring emotionally to the role, and I think that we see that continuation of his emotional life and growth into season eight, but in an exciting way, that preserves a lot of the quirks that we love about the character. It’s not perfect or linear by any means. There are plenty of adventures coming in season eight!’’
Rick is a Problem-Solver at Heart, and Morty is Well-Versed in Adventure
Despite his many shortcomings, Cardoni believes that, deep down, Rick just wants to fix things, which the actor can relate to. ‘‘I think the thing I relate most to with Rick is, he’s a problem-solver, and I fancy myself as one as well.’’ he explained, ‘‘You see something wrong with something, you want to fix it, or somebody’s in trouble, even begrudgingly, you want to step in and do what’s right.’’ On the other hand, Harry Belden’sMorty has been on a growth journey of his ownand walks the precarious line between being a responsible decision-maker and a 14-year-old kid. Belden explained,
‘‘At this point, Morty has been on so many adventures with Rick, and he kind of knows the deal, even though things always go awry. I think he’s getting more adept at saying no and setting boundaries, which is very healthy growth. On the other hand, I also think that we see a lot of moments of Morty just being a kid, enjoying being a 14-year-old boy, and all the good and bad things that come with that. I think we just see more of his own growth as a person.’’
Rick and Morty’s antics are usually compoundedby the wider family’s own shortcomings. Jerry, Beth, and Summer Smith are all flawed in their own ways, often making things worse for the titular duo in one way or another. Fans will get to see what kind of trouble the family manages to get themselves into next when season eight premieres on May 25.
