Rick and Morty Movie Confirmed — How It Could Redefine the Show’s Future
Rick and Morty is headed to the big screen, with a feature film now in the works—and it could upend the show’s future just as Season 9 nears launch.
Well, this escalated nicely: Rick and Morty is officially getting a full-length movie. And yes, that has implications for the show you watch every week.
So, yeah — a Rick and Morty movie is happening
Co-creator Dan Harmon says the feature is in development and it already has a director: longtime series hand Jacob Hair. No word yet on whether Adult Swim and company are aiming for theaters or planning to drop it straight on HBO Max, but either way, the film is being built alongside the ongoing series.
That timing matters because the TV side is busy. Season 9 is about to premiere, putting the show near the end of its initial 100-episode plan with Adult Swim. On top of that, new episodes are confirmed through Season 12, so we are not anywhere close to the finish line.
"Jacob Hair is the director."
Harmon has been clear: the movie was designed around keeping it in the family. Instead of bringing in an outside big name from another animated hit, the first question internally was basically: can Jacob do it?
Why Jacob Hair makes sense
Hair is not just a familiar name; he has been quietly steering some of the show’s most confident pivots and is credited by the team with helping shape the recent creative shift as supervising director. Showrunner Scott Marder even says if Season 9 feels especially sharp, that is in large part Hair’s doing. If you have felt the series level up over the last few years, odds are you have seen his fingerprints on episodes like:
- The Vat of Acid Episode (Season 4) — the one that became an instant classic
- Mort Dinner Rick Andre (Season 5) — Mr. Nimbus enters, chaos ensues
- Night Family (Season 6) — creepy, clever, and extremely memorable
- Unmortricken (Season 7) — the episode that takes out Rick Prime
- Valkyrick (Season 8) — a Rick and Space Beth showcase
He is also involved in Season 9. So while he moves over to lead the film, expect him to be less hands-on with the show week-to-week. That likely means a new supervising director steps up on the series side, which can subtly change the tone and scope going forward.
What this means for the show’s timeline
Production has tightened lately to a rhythm of a new season roughly every year or two. If that machine keeps humming, Season 10 is likely already deep in the works with early groundwork for Season 11 underway. The show is renewed through Season 12 and remains Adult Swim’s longest-running original animated series, so the network is clearly in for the long haul.
The wrinkle: moving Hair to the movie shifts some creative gravity. Season 9, by all accounts, is one of the strongest runs yet and tees up a new era. Handing the day-to-day baton to a new supervisor could nudge the vibe. Not a bad thing — just something to watch.
How long are we waiting for the movie?
If you are getting flashbacks to The Simpsons Movie or The Bob’s Burgers Movie taking ages, take a breath. This one should not be a decades-long march. The film and the show are being developed at the same time, so think a few years, not forever.
And because Rick and Morty episodes often function as self-contained adventures, the movie does not need to turn into a lore lecture to be welcoming. The real test is how big they can go over feature length without losing the show’s DNA. Given the team and the track record, the odds look good — and at minimum, the chaos should be entertaining.