A bizarre new Rick and Morty clip posted by the Adult Swim series' official Twitter account has stirred speculation that a season 4 release date announcement could be coming soon. After a reportedly contentious negotiation between Rick and Morty creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and Turner Broadcasting, the popular animated sci-fi series was finally renewed for 70 episodes, but it has not yet been revealed when the first of those episodes will hit the air.

Given the long delay between Rick and Morty seasons 2 and 3, fans are not optimistic about seeing new episodes any time soon. For their part, creators Roiland and Harmon say they hope to speed up their production process, and get the new season out without a long hiatus. While they wait, fans have been treated to spurts of new Rick and Morty content, including a soundtrack album, various fan-made videos and even a live stream of Rick and Morty playing Fallout 76.

Related: Rick and Morty Season 4: Every Update You Need To Know

Now, thanks to a strange clip posted by Rick and Morty's official Twitter page, there's renewed hope that season 4 could arrive sooner rather than later. After the clip dropped yesterday, fans immediately began speculating that it wasn't just a random bit of weirdness of the type that often pops up on the show's Twitter, but is in fact a teaser ahead of some kind of announcement regarding the release date of season 4. See the clip below:

The clip itself obviously doesn't feature any concrete information. Animated in a strange, surrealistic style, the video presents a series of quick scenes all built around the theme of Rick devouring Morty, while a voice chants "Rick, Morty" over and over. In one scene, Rick is some kind of shark-creature that eats a helpless jellyfish Morty, while in another Rick is a hippo eating an oblivious bird-Morty. Yet another scene sees Rick cast as Godzilla, destroying a city with his fire breath while a terrified Mothra-Morty looks on. In still another moment, Rick is a black hole and Morty a planet getting sucked in by Rick's irresistible gravitation, in case the clip hadn't quite driven home its point about egomaniac Rick's domineering (and even abusive) relationship with his grandson.

But in the clip's big twist ending, a huge fist emerges from the bottom of the shot and grabs black hole Rick. A face then emerges into the frame and we see that the Rick-destroying fist belongs to none other than Evil Morty, the other-dimensional Morty who was last seen taking control of the Citadel of Ricks, the dystoptian alternate reality where everyone is either an arrogant Rick or a meek Morty (Evil Morty being the sole exception to the meek Morty rule). Fans have long speculated that Evil Morty will turn out to be the series' ultimate main antagonist, and indeed the new clip seems to tease that the character will play a major role in season 4. It remains to be seen what big Rick and Morty announcement may follow the teaser, if any announcement is indeed forthcoming.

More: Rick And Morty: 15 Fan Theories So Crazy They Might Be True

Source: Rick and Morty/Twitter