While Rick and Morty season 7 will struggle to replace Justin Roiland, the show has a related villain problem that could make matters worse. For the first few seasons of Rick and Morty, the show’s villains weren't a particularly important part of its overarching story. In Rick and Morty seasons 1 and 2, goofy characters like Lucius Needful and Prince Nebulon showed up for standalone episodes but rarely reappeared. When villains did crop up again, it was usually in a minor background cameo and not a major dramatic role. However, this all changed with the introduction of Evil Morty and, later, Rick Prime.

Rick and Morty seasons 3 and 4 teased an important future role for Evil Morty before the show-shaking season 5 finale made good on this promise. Rick and Morty season 6 doubled down on this approach by introducing Rick Prime, another big-picture villain that the show took seriously. However, Justin Roiland’s Rick and Morty recasting has jeopardized the future of these two pivotal figures from the show’s mythos. Roiland is the voice actor who provided Rick and Morty’s voices in seasons 1—6. When domestic violence allegations against the actor surfaced in January 2023, Adult Swim severed ties with Roiland and promised to recast his roles.

Rick Prime and Evil Morty Share Rick and Morty’s Voice Actor

Rick Prime and Evil Morty are both variations on characters voiced by Roiland and, like the original Rick and Morty, the two villains were both played by Roiland until season 7. This means that both Rick and Morty's heroes and its villains will be replaced in the next outing of the cult hit, which could prove disastrous for the series. While it is relatively easy to joke about the main characters altering their voices unexpectedly, it will be much harder to excuse the same change in Rick and Morty season 7’s villains. As such, the show must find a way to justify their new voices in-universe.

The whereabouts of Rick Prime and Evil Morty are only two of the big questions Rick and Morty season 7 must address, but they are two mysteries that the show can’t ignore for much longer. Rick and Morty season 6 started strong when the season premiere introduced Rick Prime and promised that Rick would spend the rest of the season searching for his wily nemesis. However, the rest of Rick and Morty season 6 ignored the existence of both Rick Prime and Evil Morty, focusing instead on episodic adventures featuring one-off villains. This was a frustrating mistake that will make Rick and Morty season 7’s recasting issues worse.

Rick and Morty Season 7 Will Struggle To Replace Its Villains

While there are a lot of imitators who do great impersonations of Rick and Morty online, Rick Prime and Evil Morty are harder to imitate because they’re not as outwardly comedic. Most impressions of Roiland’s voiceover work lean into the actor's silliest flourishes and most over-the-top elements. However, both Rick Prime and Evil Morty are unique among Rick and Morty’s large cast of characters precisely because they aren’t particularly funny. They are among the only serious villains that the series has ever featured and this would make it tricky for an imitator to nail their personalities. However, Rick and Morty season 7 still must address this big story.

Rick and Morty season 7 can’t dance around the fates of Rick Prime and Evil Morty for long. While earlier seasons could afford to feature only one or two episodes that touched on the larger story of the series, that was because Rick and Morty had not yet introduced its most serious villains. Now that viewers know about Evil Morty and Rick Prime, the show can’t return to standalone comedic adventures. The threat that these villains represent made the low-stakes storylines of Rick and Morty season 6 feel jarring and inconsequential, so the show must embrace this issue and lean into its darker central story.

Rick and Morty Season 7 Can’t Avoid Its Biggest Villains

Season 6 only addressed Rick Prime in its first and last episodes, but this was to the detriment of the outing as a whole. Rick and Morty’s biggest season 6 mistake was continuing as if the show’s season 5 finale and season 6 premiere never happened. It was impossible to focus on goofy stories about Pissmaster when Rick Prime was still at large, and the series effectively admitted this with the season finale’s big twist. In Rick and Morty season 6, episode 10, “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation,” Rick admitted that he replaced himself with a clone in the last episode as he was busy hunting Rick Prime.

When even Rick and Morty’s hero could admit that he was distracted by the season premiere’s big revelations, this was evidence that the series really needed to bring back this story. While Rick and Morty season 6, episode 9 was hated by critics and fans alike precisely because the outing messed with Rick’s persona, this vitriol was also the result of an entire season that ignored its own promising plot. By the end of Rick and Morty season 6, it was obvious that the next outing of the series had to focus on Rick Prime, even if Roiland’s replacement made this tougher to achieve.

Rick and Morty Season 7’s New Actors Have One Advantage

The fact that the same actors who voice the new Rick and Morty will also likely voice the new Rick Prime and Evil Morty could be a good thing. This consistency will make the new actor’s take on the characters feel more legitimate faster, since they will be able to explore both the comedic and the dramatic sides of Rick and Morty via Rick Prime and Evil Morty. As outlined above, this strategy is still undeniably risky. It took until Rick and Morty's season 2 premiere before the series really relied on Roiland to inject sincerity into Rick’s voice, and Morty didn’t gain any truly serious moments until around season 4.

As such, asking Rick and Morty’s Roiland replacement to play the characters as both heroes and villains in their first episodes is a big demand. That said, this risk could also prove extremely successful. If Rick and Morty season 7 faces its biggest problem head-on and immediately delves into the stories of Evil Morty and Rick Prime, the show could give viewers so many long-awaited revelations that fans will be less likely to care about new voices. In contrast, if Rick and Morty season 7 sees the central pair of antiheroes go on another set of low-stakes adventures, their new voices will inevitably be criticized.