Spoilers ahead for Rick and Morty season 8, episode 7, “Ricker Than Fiction”
Rick and Mortyexecutive producer Scott Marden reveals how James Gunn and Zack Snyder joined the series for cameo appearances. Gunn is currently the Co-Chairman and CEO of DC Studios, and wrote and directed theupcomingSupermanmovie. Snyder helmed the previous incarnation of Superman, directingMan of Steel,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, andZack Snyder’s Justice League.
In an interview withVariety,Marden details getting Gunn and Snyder to appear as themselvesin season 8, episode 7, “Ricker Than Fiction. The episode, written by Rob Schrab, revolves around Rick and Morty confronting Gunn about how their favorite franchise,Maximum Velocitree, is going downhill. Gunn later runs into Snyder at Warner Bros. where they discussSuperman.
Marden discusses how both were on board and laughed off the jokes made at their expense. Despite being in the middle of filmingSuperman, Gunn instantly agreed to the cameo and quickly cleared it with Warner Bros.
They were good sports. Both of those guys sort of implied that this is the show they watch when they have downtime. So they were thrilled to get to be a part of the world, and there was no pushback or bristling. If anything, they laughed at anything we threw at them. There were probably, frankly, even more digs and more silly things we could have used. All they did was laugh it off.
We were like, if we’re going to do a movie and we’re going skewer Hollywood, we feel like we have to include our bosses. So we started thinking about Warner Bros. Who’d be a good face to be kind of the villain here? James Gunn just seemed like such a good choice.
We were all pretty sure that whenever Schrab reached out Gunn he would be a million percent in the middle of doing ‘Superman.’ But he not only did he respond instantly with a yes, but I think he ran it up the chain at Warner Bros. that same day. We had people on our production side who were like, ‘How is it that James Gunn and Zaslav and all these people already know about this episode?’ We didn’t think it would actually move this quickly.
I think Gunn called people over him to make sure that this wasn’t going to mess anything up. And it looked like he got the green light pretty quickly. They both came in and were really good sports. I’m a very proud nerd, I idolize both these guys. They’ve got creative freedom very few people have in Hollywood to take big swings.
Marden also revealed thatRick and Mortyco-creator Dan Harmon added theSupermandialogueto the script to try to make the episode worthy of both directors coming in for cameos.
When he heard that they were on board and they were coming in, he sort of cracked his knuckles and wanted to make sure the episode lived up to and was worthy of them, having to deliver those lines,
What This Means For Rick & Morty
The Show Takes Jabs At Long-Running Franchises, Including Itself
Rickand Mortyis a very self-aware show and isn’t afraid to make fun of itself. Rick invents a “Movie-lizer” to rewrite the nextMaximum Velocitreemovie. After being literally sucked into the story, franchise trends and clichés are mocked, but the show also acknowledges that it too has become a long-running IP.
The addition of theSupermanexchange between Gunn and Snyder is one of the highlights of the episode. It walks the line between making fun of them, while also being complimentary to both. Snyder jokes to Gunn that he’s seen the newSupermanand remarks that he is “the ‘Man of Steel', not the ‘Man of Conversation,'“and to “Do more shots of him punching!”
Before appearing on the show, both Gunn and Snyder have been asked for years if either woulddirect a live-actionRick and Mortymovie. Both are vocal fans of the series, and while a live-action movie is unlikely, it’s interesting that they already shared a history with the show.
In the same interview, it was revealed that theimage of Gunn and Snyder that went viralwas the pair after they recorded their dialogue for the episode. They recorded their lines back-to-back and took the picture after they were done.
Our Take On Gunn & Snyder’s Cameos
The Jokes Are Primarily About Fan Culture
A lot of the commentary is around internet fan culture. Primarily regarding DC movies, Snyder and Gunn both have vocal supporters and detractors on social media. Rick is standing in for fans in the episode, ultimately being disgruntled and resigning himself to being “an impossible-to-please fan.”
The episode was designed to feel like one of the older episodes of the show, and it succeeds in its execution. The characters have an engaging arc as Rick learns how difficult it is to make a movie, while also having fun cameo appearances that still makeRick and Mortyfeel fresh.
Rick and Morty
Cast
Rick and Morty is an animated science fiction series that follows the eccentric scientist Rick Sanchez and his impressionable grandson Morty Smith as they embark on perilous adventures across space and alternate dimensions. The show explores the impact of these exploits on Morty’s tumultuous family life and personal challenges.
