Adult Swim is officially developing a Rick and Morty anime series. The animated sci-fi comedy revolving around a mad scientist and his grandson's interdimensional adventures has enjoyed large critical and commercial success since launching on Adult Swim in 2013. Rick and Morty hails from creators Justin Roiland, who also plays the titular duo and created the source Back to the Future parody short, and Dan Harmon.

As Rick and Morty has grown with multiple seasons at Adult Swim, including the massive 70-episode renewal deal inked with Roiland and Harmon, it has also expanded to various other mediums, including comic books, musical releases and video games. The show would see its first major expansion on screen as development got underway on a short spinoff series The Vindicators centered on the heroic team of the same name introduced in season 3, which is currently gearing up to premiere later this year. With development currently underway on future Rick and Morty seasons, the creatives behind the franchise are looking to keep the hot streak going with another major expansion.

Related: Will Rick & Morty Ever Do Another Interdimensional Cable Episode?

As audiences eagerly await the next chapter of the series, WarnerMedia has announced development on a new Rick and Morty spinoff series. Entitled Rick and Morty: The Anime, the 10-episode series hails from director Takashi Sano, who wrote and directed the previous animated shorts "Rick and Morty vs. Genocider" and "Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)," and is currently in production to air on both Adult Swim and HBO Max. See Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen's statement on the announcement and the anime's first poster below:

“Toonami helped introduce anime to a U.S. audience 25 years ago, and is creating new, dynamic originals for the next generation of anime fans. These two series build on the legacy of those recent originals such as Fena: Pirate Princess, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Shenmue the Animation, with Uzumaki and Housing Complex C, premiering later this year.”

Rick and Morty The Anime

Development on the Rick and Morty anime comes on the heels of main series writer Rob Schrab revealed that the writer's room had come back together to begin work on season 8 of the hit Adult Swim show as part of the 70-episode renewal. Given the anime is being described as a standalone project from Rick and Morty, it seems likely that it doesn't fall under that primary deal between Harmon, Roiland and WarnerMedia but rather acts as an extension of the billion-dollar franchise. With WarnerMedia having so much faith behind the Rick and Morty IP and ordering a second spinoff of the main series, it also seems likely that the studio could look to produce future spinoffs and possibly even extend the mothership show past its 70-episode order if Harmon and Roiland are interested.

The announcement of the Rick and Morty anime series should come as interesting news for fans, especially with Sano at the helm after writing and directing the previous acclaimed anime shorts. The development also raises the question of how much progress has been made on the Vindicators spinoff, which was announced in May 2021 and slated for an unspecified 2021 or 2022 release date, though no word has come since regarding the project. In the meantime, audiences can catch up with the first five seasons of Rick and Morty streaming on HBO Max now.

More: The Vindicators: Everything We Know About The Rick & Morty Spinoff