Who Voices Mr. Poopybutthole After Justin Roiland's Rick And Morty Firing?
After Adult Swim dropped Justin Roiland for alleged sexual misconduct, the animation studio hired new talent to fill his many "Rick and Morty" roles. However, instead of finding one voice actor to replace him, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim chose to recast his arsenal of brash and sarcastic characters with multiple performers. Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden now portray the titular roles of Rick and Morty, respectively, but the first episode of Season 7 also features another prominent Roiland character — Mr. Poopybutthole.
In Season 7, Episode 1, "How Poopy Got His Poop Back," the inexplicable being is given voice by Jon Allen, an American voice actor whose previous credits include "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure," "Mobile Suit Gundam," and "Dragon Ball Super."
During an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, co-creator Dan Harmon and showrunner Scott Marder discussed the new casting process, citing that multiple talents were used to mitigate the burden placed on any single talent. "We are happy for [Cardoni and Belden] to take on more of these smaller characters," explained Marder. "[But] in the time crunch we were in, it was a lot to ask either of them to fully take on Poopy as well ... We ultimately found [Allen] ... who came in late in the game. [He] took pressure off of [Cardoni and Belden], who were both working on Poopy, but it felt like too much for either of them to be doing him in an episode of the show that they had to completely redo."
Just who is Mr. Poopybutthole, exactly?
For those who have not seen "Rick and Morty," Mr. Poopybutthole is a recurring character who enjoys flagrantly abusing the fourth wall. He frequently converses with the audience rather than with other characters in the show. In "How Poopy Got His Poop Back," he specifically takes a moment to introduce Season 7 as a new batch of episodes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr. Poopybutthole is not his real name. No, his real name is Wayne, but in Season 1, he admits he prefers the longer, grosser title. No further explanation is ever given for why that might be the case. He reveals that he used to be Professor Poopybutthole, but that didn't stick.
Lastly, don't ask what Mr. Poopybutthole is because there isn't an answer. Some theorize that he's a version of Morty himself. In 2017, Dan Harmon told Cinema Blend that he preferred to let fans theorize about the character rather than provide a definitive response. "He subsists on lives like the way that hermit crabs steal other shells," said Harmon cryptically. "Maybe Mr. Poopybutthole takes advantage of the holes put in your memory and kind of burrows into those pre-existing holes. So he shows up where those parasites are, and he's more of a fourth-dimensional phantom species that isn't bound by space, and only appears in concentrations of temporal malfunction or misperception and breakdown."
Mr. Poopybutthole appears in "Rick and Morty" sparingly, never more than two or three times per season. Based on Scott Marder's comments to the Hollywood Reporter about the character's increased screen time, that might be about to change.
"Rick and Morty" Season 7 is now available to watch, with new episodes released every Sunday until December 17.