As new Rick and Morty episodes begin to air alongside reruns, viewers are going to be hard-pressed to differentiate between Roiland’s old performances and what newcomers Ian Cardoni (Rick) and Harry Belden (Morty) are now bringing to the table.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series showrunner Scott Marder and co-creator Dan Harmon said that was one of their goals when they first began their six-month-long search for new actors capable of taking over the roles. Because the internet has always been teeming with people certain they can do spot-on impressions of the show’s characters, Marder assumed that their six-month-long search for a new Rick and Morty — both of whom Roiland previously voiced — would be a bit easier.
What they found, though, was that while many hopefuls were able to do characters like Rick in fits and starts, they struggled to inhabit him more casually.
“Everyone sounded like ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage or like a cousin of his,” Marder said. “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.”
After hearing the physical toll that voicing Rick and Morty took on Roiland over the years, Harmon and Marder also knew that they wanted to bring two different actors on board going forward “for sheer quality of life.” Harmon also added that the entire way that Cardoni and Belden (who aren’t speaking to the press due to SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing strike) are being introduced to the public is meant to minimize any sense of disruption.
“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,” Harmon said. “We really want people to keep believing these characters are real.”
