Rick and Morty season 7 saw the disgraced Justin Roiland replaced as the show's title characters by Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden, respectively. Both found their footing as the season progressed and the decision to end the Rick Prime storyline offered a sense of closure to the show's Roiland-led years.
Talking to Variety, showrunner Scott Marder explained the significance of dealing with the sinister Rick Prime at the season's midway point in order to fully explore the toll that had taken on the Rick we've followed throughout the series.
"You’ve had this agenda, this vendetta, your whole life, and it normally ends in your own death as well," he says of Rick finally taking out the man who killed his wife. "But like Rick’s living past that thing that’s been this singular focus his whole life and now it’s all about exploring who he is without that."
Moving forward, it sounds like the show will continue to feature serialised episodes, with Marder finally confirming we haven't seen the last of Evil Morty. "We can expect to see him in the future," he teased. "We certainly have plans and grand designs with him, for sure."
He'd add, "Eight will have a lot of similar flow and vibes to six and seven, which is like a cool balance of silly and one-up canonical stuff. That’s the stuff I want as a fan. And that’s the stuff that [Dan] Harmon and I work on all jammed together. I’m really proud of these last couple of seasons; they’re sort of the perfect blend of what I look for as a fan."
Co-creator Dan Harmon was also on hand for this interview and it was put to him that, despite his mixed feelings on serialised storytelling in Rick and Morty, those stingers featuring Mr. Poopybutthole are being used to set the stage for him becoming a full-blown villain.
"Shit. Well, now we can’t do that, or [YouTube channel Film Theorists] can sue us, right? Good job, internet! You blew it again!" he joked.
"No, in all seriousness, I do love that guy so much; I want to encourage those kinds of theories," Harmon added. "I love, love that stuff. I love him, particularly the amount of energy he puts into that stuff." Marder chimed in to admit that that’s "not their plan for [Mr. Poopybutthole]," but said it’s an interesting theory. "I always love what fans take and run with in any show."
Rick and Morty won't return for season 8 until 2025. We know we're getting at least 10 seasons on Adult Swim and there have previously been rumblings about a possible big screen spin-off for the titular duo.