‘Rick and Morty’ is heading toward a feature film as Warner Bros. develops an animated movie based on the hit Adult Swim series. Jacob Hair, a longtime director on the show, is in talks to direct the project. The film is still in early development, and the studio has not shared any plot details yet. The move comes as the Emmy-winning series prepares for its ninth season and continues its run with renewals through Season 12.
‘Rick and Morty’ movie director update
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jacob Hair is in talks to direct the ‘Rick and Morty’ movie for Warner Bros. Hair has directed episodes of the Adult Swim series since 2019 and now serves as supervising director on the show. The InSneider first reported his involvement.Series co-creator Dan Harmon also confirmed Hair’s role during a junket interview with CinemaBlend on Tuesday. Harmon said the team did not look outside the show for a director. “Jacob Hair is the director. We didn’t shop around,” he said.The animated film does not have a release date yet. Warner Bros. has also kept the story under wraps. The series follows inventor Rick Sanchez and his teenage grandson Morty as they travel across universes and face strange, dangerous, and often chaotic situations.
Dan Harmon on the ‘Rick and Morty’ movie
Harmon and Justin Roiland co-created ‘Rick and Morty’, which premiered in 2013. The show has won Emmys and has ranked as basic cable’s most-watched comedy over several recent seasons. A spinoff titled ‘President Curtis’, featuring Keith David in the lead role, is also set to premiere soon on Adult Swim.In 2023, Adult Swim cut ties with Roiland after felony domestic abuse charges, which were later dismissed. Roiland had voiced both Rick and Morty before the roles were recast.Harmon previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he had discussed a film version with Warner Bros. executives and felt hopeful about it. “My philosophy would be to just take a Rick and Morty adventure, and spend a bunch of extra money on it and make it 90 minutes long,” he said.He added, “Not to try to earn its feature status by virtue of canonical dramatic tone shifts or anything like that, but rather to just make it a super badass episode of Rick and Morty.”Harmon also said Zack Snyder once offered to help get the movie started. Snyder later appeared as himself in season eight of the series.