Who is Justin Roiland in Rick and Morty? Famous characters voiced explored as Adult Swim is set to recast 

American animator and voice actor Mark Justin Roiland is being dropped by cable TV network Adult Swim following the domestic violence charges brought against him.

Roiland is the voice behind Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith from the popular sitcom Rick and Morty. He co-created the series and is also an executive producer of the show.

Roiland co-created Rick and Morty with Dan Harmon. The 42-year-old voice actor is from Manteca, California.

Among his notable works apart from Rick and Morty, he has voiced Oscar Fishtooth from Fish Hooks on Disney, Blendin Blandin from Gravity Falls, Korvo from Solar Opposites on Hulu, and the Earl of Lemongrab from Adventure Time.

In 2012, Dan Harmon was approached by Adult Swim to create a new adult animated series for their network. Dan approached Roiland and they created Rick and Morty together, which first aired in December 2013. The show was an instant hit. From 2013 to 2022 Roiland voiced both Rick and Morty’s characters.

Justin Roiland (Image via Getty Images)

In August 2016, a virtual reality game studio called Squanchtendo was launched by Justin Roiland. The name of the studio is a portmanteau of the character Squanchy from Rick and Morty and the Japanese video game company Nintendo.

Later in December 2017, he renamed it Squanch Games.

Adult Swim is set to recast voice actors in place of Justin Roiland

The domestic violence charges against Roiland from 2020, came to public knowledge in January 2023. In August 2020, the voice actor was charged with felony domestic battery with corporal injury and wrongful confinement by violence, menace, and fraud by the District Attorney’s office in Orange County, California.

The charges were brought against Justin Roiland by an unnamed woman who was reportedly dating the voice actor at the time. The incident allegedly took place in January 2020. However, back then, Roiland pleaded not guilty to these charges and was released on bail, and a pre-trial was scheduled for April 27, 2023.

After the news broke, Allie Goertz, an American musician, shared screenshots of some chats on Twitter, where Roiland sent her s**ual and offensive messages.

Allie's tweet. (Image via Twitter/@AllieGoertz)

Screenshot shared by Allie Goertz (Image via Twitter/@AllieGoertz)

On January 25 Rick and Morty's official Twitter page made a post where it was announced that Adult Swim had cut ties with Justin Roiland. The post further added:

"Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7."

Squanch Games also made a tweet on the same day, informing the public that they received Roiland's resignation on January 16. The post added:

"The passionate team at Squanch will keep developing games we know our fans will love while continuing to support and improve High On Life."

Rick and Morty documents the misadventures of Rick Sanchez, a cynical mad scientist, and Morty Smith, his fretful grandson. The duo goes on interdimensional adventures that take place across infinite realities, including other planets, and pass through portals on Rick’s flying saucer.

The crux of the show stands on the conflicting scenario where domestic family drama clashes with an alcoholic grandfather, pulling his grandson into partaking in boisterous fun and adventure.

Rick and Morty (Image via Adult Swim)

The show has released six seasons so far. The latest season, consisting of ten episodes, was released on September 4, 2022. A seventh season was promised as per a long-term deal between Adult Swim and Cartoon Network, which ordered 70 new episodes.

Adult Swim declared that the voice roles for Morty and Rick will be recast since they have terminated all associations with Justin Roiland in the wake of a legal battle.