H. P. Lovecraft’s famous creation Cthulhu has been in the Rick and Morty opening credits for years, but the monster is now even less likely to show up in season 6. Three episodes in, Rick and Morty season 6 has already proven that the Adult Swim hit has a troubled relationship with its origins. Rick and Morty has grown in terms of character development but still maintains the same silly sense of humor as ever.
Rick and Morty season 6 is still fulfilling promises from earlier outings, like expanding on Rick’s backstory and giving Space Beth a bigger role on the show. At the same time, the more Rick and Morty’s tone changes, the less likely it is that the series will revisit some of its oldest promises. For example, a particular crossover that has been teased in Rick and Morty’s opening credits since the show’s pilot now looks increasingly unlikely.
While Lovecraft’s famous monster Cthulhu has appeared in Rick and Morty’s opening credits since season 1, the existence of the upcoming comic Rick and Morty vs. Cthulhu doesn’t bode well for the Lovecraftian monster’s potential inclusion in the show proper. After all, Rick and Morty can’t simply retread plots that the show’s comic book stories have already covered, meaning episodes of Rick and Morty are now much less likely to address the Cthulhu story promised by the opening credits given that the comics are dedicating an entire issue to the Lovecraft Mythos. Lovecraft was a prolific author who created a vast fictional universe, so two Rick and Morty stories could both address the author’s creations, but Rick and Morty vs. Cthulhu will reportedly include a nod to the specific short story "The Call of Cthulhu."
Why Cthulhu (Probably) Won't Be In Rick & Morty Season 6
While Rick and Morty season 6 has mocked and broken a lot of the show’s few existing rules, the prospect of repeating a storyline from the tie-in comics could smack of desperation, especially for a series that runs on originality. Each episode of Rick and Morty attempts to offer an original, innovative spin on a well-known genre convention or familiar storytelling trope, so parodying the legendary cosmic horror writer in the tie-in comics and then repeating this storyline in an episode could be seen as evidence of a dearth of ideas. Rick and Morty has too many stories to tell the same one twice, regardless of how long the show has promised a Rick versus Cthulhu showdown.
Also, Rick and Morty season 6’s revelations about Rick’s backstory prove that the show is becoming less episodic and more serialized. The establishment of Rick Prime as season 6’s main villain made Rick and Morty season 6, episode 1 feel higher stakes than most standalone episodes of the show, and Rick and Morty could lose this atmosphere if the show features too many episodes centered around random misadventures like a Lovecraft homage. As such, Rick and Morty season 6 is better off leaving Cthulhu to the show’s comics for now.