The wait is almost over. Adult Swim has officially announced that the Rick and Morty Season 9 release date is locked in for May 24, 2026.
In a world where animated favorites often take multi-year hiatuses, the team behind the Smith family is proving to be as efficient as Rick with a portal gun. Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen isn’t holding back the hype, either. In a recent statement, he noted that the show continues to “top itself,” calling the creative output of the current production unit “kind of scary.”
Dan Harmon’s “Holy Grail” Idea Finally Lands
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the Rick and Morty Season 9 news comes directly from series creator Dan Harmon.
Harmon and showrunner Scott Marder reportedly took the massive step of writing Seasons 8, 9, and 10 in a single continuous block. During this marathon session, Harmon finally cracked the code on a concept he’s been trying to pull off for his entire career.
“Season 9 includes something I’ve been wanting to do in television or movies forever and finally figured out how to pull off,” Harmon told Polygon.
Considering Harmon is the man who gave us “Pickle Rick” to explore the nuances of family therapy and Cronenberg-ed an entire dimension just to avoid a prom date mistake, the stakes for this “forever” project are astronomical. Could we be looking at a feature-length experimental narrative or a structural gimmick that breaks the fourth wall entirely? In this show, anything is on the table.
First Look: Gnomes, Camping, and a Chilling Mystery
The initial batch of Rick and Morty first look images gives us a glimpse into the range of Season 9. On the domestic front, things are as dysfunctional as ever. We see Rick (voiced by Ian Cardoni) dealing with a swirling vortex inside his garage lab—which is essentially a Tuesday for him—while also getting into a physical scrap with a very irate Morty (Harry Belden).
But the “high-concept insanity” Ouweleen promised is clearly visible in the multiversal teases:
- The Miniature Rampage: One shot shows a drunken Rick stomping through a picturesque, gnome-populated miniature town.
- Bonding (Sort of): The duo is seen on a camping trip in a vibrant alien forest, though if history is any indication, this “nature retreat” will likely end in a cosmic disaster.
- The Snowy RV: The most talked-about image features a shadowed, bundled-up figure stepping out of an RV in a snowy forest. It has a distinctly “spooky” vibe that stands in stark contrast to the show’s usual neon-drenched aesthetic. Could this be a new rival, or perhaps a version of a character we haven’t seen in years?
A Galaxy of Spinoffs: The President is Stepping Up
While the flagship show is renewed through Season 12, the Rick and Morty universe is continuing to expand. Adult Swim has confirmed that a spinoff focused on the U.S. President, Andre Curtis (legendarily voiced by Keith David), is officially in the works.
As Rick’s most consistent foil and a man with his own “Presidential” brand of ego and sci-fi weaponry, a solo series for Curtis feels like a natural progression for a show that loves to satirize bureaucracy and power.
Is Season 9 the Biggest One Yet?
With the Rick and Morty Season 9 release date fast approaching on May 24, the anticipation is at a fever pitch. Between the promise of a career-defining Dan Harmon episode and the expansion of the “President-verse,” Adult Swim is clearly doubling down on its crown jewel.
What do you think the “secret project” Dan Harmon finally figured out could be? Is it a deep dive into Rick’s past, or a new way to break the multiverse entirely? Drop your wildest theories in the comments below—I’ll be reading them all!
