Epic 'Rick and Morty' Season 4 trailer finally confirms the premiere date
There's a catch.
The Rick and Morty Season 4 trailer is officially here, and even though it confirms a surprisingly early release date of November 10, it comes with a catch: We’re only getting the first five episodes this year. (The rest will probably air starting in January, but more on that later.)
Adult Swim released the trailer late Sunday night/Monday morning, and it’s got all sorts of new adventures, aliens, and crazy gadgets. It also suggests there might be another apocalypse on Earth that involves Mr. Meeseeks and Mr. Poopybutthole — and unless we’re mistaken, there just might be a bonafide Dungeons & Dragons episode?
As the trailer opens, we see Rick flying his car down to a planet (seemingly the same lush coastline from one of the Season 4 images released in July) where they infiltrate some kind of ancient temple. Later, we see them wearing translucent bulletproof body suits in the same temple.
We also see Morty running away from some nasty snakelike aliens with laser rifles accompanied by a new feline alien friend, Chachi, who sadly gets shot through the head just as they’re about to make a quick getaway with something Morty stole.
RIP Chachi. We already miss you.
Rick issues several voice commands to his many cybernetic enhancements, the funniest being when he commands his lab coat to “rip off Doctor Strange.” It promptly wraps around an attacker, just like Strange’s Cloak of Levitation often does.
In keeping with the trailer’s magical fantasy vibe, we get several hints that one of these episodes might involve magic, or perhaps even a legitimate Dungeons & Dragons crossover story. Early on, we see a volcanic stream of fire and ash burst open in the living room of the Smith house, and Rick says it’s because of a dragon he got Morty. Later, during what looks like a parody of the airport battle from Captain America: Civil War, Morty squares off against some enemies with cool gadgets while Beth wields a makeshift sword and shield while fighting Summer.
Rick, Morty, and Summer also run around in a subterranean area full of goblins or some other fantasy creatures. Rick has a “magic” weapon that transforms enemies into random objects, and Summer is dressed up like a ranger or archer.
Is this a hint at a Dungeons & Dragons crossover?
The trailer notes that “five all new episodes” are coming and that it’s “half the season you deserve, all the season we could handle.” By our estimation, the last of these five episodes should air on December 8. Don’t fret about any long delays, however. The back half of Season 4 will probably begin airing sometime in January. The first three episodes of Season 1 aired in December 2013 before the show took a month-long break, and the rest of the season aired in small sequential batches.
Season 4 will probably follow a similar format, and while that might be frustrating to some, take comfort in knowing that with the 70-episode order, the delay between seasons will never be as long as it was between Season 3 and Season 4. Even if we have to wait, it won’t be for very long.
Cancel any plans you have November 10 or any of the four Sundays that come after.
Rick and Morty Season 4 premieres November 10 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern.
