ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke with Rick and Morty stars Harry Belden and Ian Cardoni about the latest season of the popular Adult Swim animated series. Belden and Cardoni discussed making the Rick and Morty roles their own now that they’ve been part of the show for two seasons, if they think a live-action Rick and Morty movie could work, and much more.
The official logline of Rick and Morty Season 8 reads, “Rick and Morty is back for Season Eight! Life has meaning again! Anything is possible! Look out for adventures with Summer, Jerry, Beth, and the other Beth. Maybe Butter Bot will get a new task? Whatever happens, you can’t keep Rick and Morty down for long. People have tried!”
New episodes of Rick and Morty Season 8 premiere on Sundays on Adult Swim.
Brandon Schreur: This is the second season where the two of you have now voiced Rick and Morty. I’m sure that when the last season, Season 7, came out, there was a lot of stigma about being the replacements and that you had to answer a bunch of questions about what it’s like to take over these roles. Now that you’re into this new season, Season 8, do you feel like that stigma is gone? Since you’re back for round two, do you feel like this new season has given you a chance to build off what you started last season?
Harry Belden: Yeah, in a sense, I suppose so. Yeah. When you say the stigma, it’s really just that people don’t like change. Or change is a hard thing to accept. I remember myself being worried about what was going to happen to the show, not knowing what would happen. Now, at the end of the day, Ian and I are so focused on the work that we really just don’t have time or energy to worry about whatever other people are thinking. Obviously, we want people to enjoy the show, but at the end of the day, it’s our job, we’re focused, we’re working as hard as we can.
Let me tell you, nobody is a bigger critic of our work than ourselves, right? We hold ourselves to a super high standard as fans and as actors, to hit this level of performance each week. So, yeah, I do think that with Season 8, though, we have more time, we’re a little more settled in, and hopefully that comes across in our work.
Ian Cardoni: I would say that Season 8 offered an opportunity for us to warm up a little bit more into the roles. There’s the luxury of having more time to work on this season than we had for Season 7, and we could get more options. What ends up in the final cuts of these episodes, it’s the result of a lot of people working on this show.
A lot of people are Rick and Morty. Even though we record separately from the other cast, we’re never alone, truly. We have directors, producers, writers, sound engineers, not to mention the editors, writers, animators — everybody who works on the show. There are so many talented, smart people who have been on the show for years who are thrilled and really excited to be doing these new episodes. We’re a part of that team, but we don’t do this in a vacuum. There are a lot of people who are contributing to this; if they’re happy, we’re happy. If the fans are happy, we’re happy. And I think what we’re seeing with Season 8 — at least so far, the three episodes that have aired — are really cool adventures and really cool stuff.
Totally. That jumps into what I was going to ask you next; I was just catching up with the show last night, and I loved these first three episodes. They totally capture the Rick and Morty vibe, I was having so much fun with it. I know there’s still a bunch more coming out in this new season. Is there anything you can tease or tell me about what the new episodes have in store for fans?
Cardoni: Well, coming up — and this has been teased, so it’s not too much of a spoiler — but I will say that it’s going to be really fun to have another holiday-themed episode in the library. You never know if it’s going to become an instant classic that people watch year after year, but there’s an interesting take that we’ve got coming up. And there’s some more Jerry that we’ll see, which is really exciting.
Belden: Yeah, there’s a lot of Jerry in this season. Especially with next week’s episode. I think that, no matter what you’re a fan of with Rick and Morty, Season 8 is probably going to hit one of your boxes, in some way.
I can’t wait. I’ve been waiting for the big Jerry moment this season. I think one of my favorite moments so far from Season 8 was in that very episode with you, Harry, when there’s that montage when we see what Morty was doing in the Matrix the whole time. Going into the army, losing his buddies. I thought that was classic Rick and Morty, like you guys nailed it right there, it was so much fun. Can you tell me a little about that moment, and seeing that in the script? Were you like, ‘Oh, we’re doing something kind of big, here?’
Belden: Oh, yeah. I distinctly remember — I think that was the first Season 8 script I got, actually. I remember reading it at home, I was still living in Chicago at the time. I got to the part where Rick tosses the beer, the bottle shatters on the ground, and Morty has the PTSD flashback. For some reason, that set me off. I could see where it was going, and I remember just laughing so hard. My fiancé came in and was like, ‘What is going on? What are you watching?’ And I was just like, ‘I’m just reading this script, it’s so funny.’ I couldn’t wait to see it animated. It absolutely killed me.
I also said the exact same thing that you said, I said, ‘This is classic Rick and Morty.’ I said this earlier today, but if we pick anything to be the season premiere, please let it be this. It’s got everything — Ian said this earlier, but if someone dropped into that episode of the show without knowing what Rick and Morty is, this is their first time watching, it would still be a great pick for them. It’s got a little bit of everything.
Cardoni: I’ll also say that, just in terms of where we’re at with it — this sort of goes back to your other question — where we’re at with these roles and these characters, that scene that you just references, Harry, and a real testament to your work, you have an amazing stammer right as that happens. As I recall earlier in that scene, there’s a pretty good burp that I’m proud of. That scene, in isolation, if you were just to say, ‘Alright, let’s check in on Rick and Morty Season 8, how are they doing?’ and they see that one clip, you’re good. It gives the fans what they’re looking for, and it’s only getting better.
I could not agree more. Ian, in this last episode that just aired — “The Rick, The Mort, & The Ugly” — that one was a lot of fun, too. I don’t want to spoil anything too much for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but it ties back into The Citadel in a pretty major way. Do you think there are still loose ends to tie up with that whole storyline? We see things play out in this episode, but can we expect more Easter eggs or full episodes like this one that deal with the fallout of all of that?
Cardoni: You can definitely expect more Easter eggs in Season 8. But, in terms of the Citadel stuff, I wouldn’t put anything past the writers. I don’t know, but I would just say that we’ve been surprised picking up scripts before, just in terms of what comes up and what they refer back to, or bring back around. I remember reading the “Unmortricken” script for the first time and thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is where we’re going to go with that storyline.’ So, you know, I wouldn’t put anything past this team. We have a whole multiverse to explore.
What I loved about this past episode, though, was all the different iterations of Rick and Morty. Those were some of the cooler moments, as a fan, when watching the earlier seasons, as well. The Citadel was a cool way to see just how big this multiverse was. To be able to play in this sandbox is a dream come true, and it was a lot of fun to experiment vocally with characters like Homesteader Rick and Boss Hog Rick, especially. If people haven’t watched it, they should tune in and get their mouth ‘round it.
I love it. Speaking with the sandbox of Rick and Morty, I have a broader question about the show and animation for the two of you. It’s obviously been a trend the past couple of five years or so to turn animated shows or movies into live-action things. Lilo & Stitch was just a huge box office hit, the How to Train Your Dragon movie is coming out and it’s going to be huge. Do you think Rick and Morty could ever work as a live-action movie? Is that something you would want to see? Or do you think it’s best in the animated format that it’s currently in?
Belden: I think it’d be really hard to do a full live-action movie. I mean, I guess if the budget is big enough, but Rick and Morty, you know, anything can happen at any time, all the time. So I don’t know. I don’t know. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing it, obviously, just speaking as a fan of the show. I do think that, if it did happen, it’d be more of a quick cut in an animated movie where they go live-action for a minute and then they go back. But who knows? Anything can happen.
Cardoni: That’s a funny pitch. I don’t want to argue for the limitations of this show, its characters, or where the writers could go with it. But I will also say that being in the animated space gives us all the options to explore the multiverse. That’s sort of what has made us iconic. I don’t know what drives the cultural need to explore the different mediums — I mean, it’s fun. If it grows the show, if it’s interesting to people, then the more the art, the better. The more stuff that we’re creating, the better. As long as human beings are the ones who are creating it, I’m all for it.
What I will say is that there’s an incredible team behind Rick and Morty. We’re here as the faces of the two titular characters, but there are hundreds of people who work on this show. They are all incredibly talented. They are animated from the whole world round, but also, primarily based here in California. Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in today, but I will say emphatically that animation jobs, in our town, here in California — more of that, please. As long as it doesn’t take away from any of the work that these talented, incredible people are doing. We’ve got many seasons to fill, and hopefully many beyond that. So whatever we add into the Rick and Morty-verse sounds good to me, but I think we’ve got a good thing going.
Belden: Amen, Ian. I couldn’t agree more.
Cardoni: I’ll get off my soapbox, though.
Belden: Stay on it. I love it.
The two of you obviously joined with Season 7, but I’ve seen some interviews where you guys have said that you were fans of the show before that, and you knew these characters and everything really well. I’m curious how much your guys’ lives have changed since becoming part of Rick and Morty. Does it just kind of alter your brain chemistry now that you’re part of the show, where you’re sitting at home and suddenly you’re thinking in their voices inside your head?
Cardoni: All the time. Our poor significant others who have to live with these guys.
Belden: I know! I know. That’s so true. Yeah, days after recording — like, when I record in the morning or something, the whole rest of the day my internal dialogue is in the voice of Morty, and I can’t turn that off. It does weirdly feel like there was my life before this and now there’s my after this. Thinking about the before time can mess with me a little bit, sometimes.
Cardoni: Yeah, my Rick attitude comes out a bit when I’m stuck in traffic out here. If you cut me off, you’re going to get a voice line, and it’s not going to be pretty. But I will say, also, our lives have definitely changed, but we can still go to the grocery store, and that’s nice. We get to hide behind the animated versions of the characters.
I’m sure that helps, totally. We know there’s a lot more Rick and Morty coming. The show has already been renewed through Season 12. And it’s still as popular as it ever was; I think it’s probably just gotten more and more popular over the years. Do you guys think there’s ever going to be a point where Rick and Morty comes to a natural end, or do you want to see the show go on forever like The Simpsons?
Cardoni: The creators have said that this is a show with that sort of potential. If the writers and creators can see 100 years forever, then, yeah, I’m not going to argue for any limitations on this show. We can do anything — I can do anything! We can go anywhere. Look, as long as the writing is fresh and the characters are alive, we’ve got amazing, limitless storytelling possibilities. Not to compare it to any other show, but I think, uniquely, Rick and Morty could go on forever and continue to be as popular.
Thanks to Harry Belden and Ian Cardoni for taking the time to discuss Rick and Morty Season 8.
