The creator of mad-scientist mega-hit animation Rick and Morty is aiming for a more upbeat take on humanity courtesy of the alien immigrants in his new show, Solar Opposites
When discussing the current state of the world with the creator of Rick and Morty, you’re talking to someone who has given the various means by which an apocalypse might come about more thought than most. As the voice of both the titular mad scientist and his naive, tagalong grandson, Justin Roiland has participated in dozens of such scenarios, each more emotionally devastating than the last, from “Cronenberged” nuclear-war mutants to humanity being overrun by hyper-intelligent cyborg dogs.
“The Earth needs a reprieve,” Roiland says. “We are in a sick system that’s designed to consume, and we’re tearing down the rainforest, and we’re polluting the oceans, and we’re doing all these things that are in service of a machine, the economy, all that stuff. Planned obsolescence, so stuff’s always breaking and you have to buy a new one, or there’s a new one that’s even better than the old one, so it’s ‘Buy! Buy! Buy! Buy!’ and ‘Make! Make! Make!’ And that’s just not sustainable in the long run for humanity.”
