‘Let’s Hear You Burp’: Fans Are Throwing Their Hat in the Ring to Be the Next Rick and Morty Voices

For anyone who is just now returning to the internet after a 24-hour-or-longer hiatus, Justin Roiland, co-creator and lead voice actor of the massively popular and massively memed Adult Swim show Rick and Morty, has been excommunicated by the network in the midst of his fight against felony domestic violence charges.

With two of the most popularly impersonated voice roles in Rick and Morty now lacking an actor, fans of the series have already begun the wild speculation and suggestion as to who will take up the mantle of the two (or one, really) most recognizable voices in internet nerdom. Brock Baker, a voice actor who has lent his talents to popular I.P.s such as South Park and Final Fantasy, lamented the heavy weight now placed on the shoulders of the decision-makers responsible for recasting the roles, saying, “A casting director somewhere is about to hear a lot of bad Rick and Morty impressions. Godspeed.”

Many internet tryouts have been tweeted by voice actors with the pipes to become the next Rick and/or Morty, along with some amateur auditions by fans who just have pipe dreams. Here are some of the self-described contenders to fill the valuable vacancy:

TikTok star Sean Kelly is a fan favorite to take on the roles since he’s already made a name for himself as the internet’s premier Rick and Morty impersonator — he even has a shout-out by a pre-criminal case Roiland for being “scary, scary, scary close” to the real thing to add to his credibility. Kelly has accrued millions of followers on TikTok for his versatile voice skills, with his Rick and Morty impressions being his most popular to date. Kelly is a natural fit to play the parts, and judging by the timing of his latest post, he already has his eyes set on the big prize.

Some slightly layman attempts to audition for the roles were listed in the replies of Adult Swim’s decidedly solemn announcement about the decision to cut ties with Roiland — amateurs re-enacting their Rick and Morty fan fictions have attracted attention as fans commend the more earnest and effortful attempts to emulate the characters. Despite their charm, videos like these don’t have the polish of professional voice actors as audio issues and inconsistencies in the sound-alikes limit these fans’ chances of hitting the big time.

However, a handful of aspiring voice talents are dancing on the edge of cringe with completely off-base impressions that we wouldn’t be able to place as Rick and Morty without visual aids. Until Adult Swim announces a replacement for the roles, we’re probably going to see a lot more posts similar to this one — high-effort, high-production value posts that have a Rick and Morty feel until Rick and Morty actually start talking. 

If a replacement for the Rick and Morty voices is ever plucked from a post on the internet, it’s easy to assume that Kelly would end up as Adult Swim’s choice to play the iconic parts. So far, we’ve only found one voice actor whose Rick and Morty are indistinguishable from the original casting — but that’s not going to stop all the Jerrys from shooting their shot.