Rick & Morty Season 4: Creators Promise Shorter Waits For New Episodes

Adult Swim's Rick & Morty tends to take longer breaks in between seasons. Between Season 2 and 3, there was an 18-month gap. And now with the fourth season in the series, two years have past since fans got new episodes. During San Diego Comic-Con show creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland discussed the upcoming Season 4, ahead of their panel.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Harmon and Roiland alluded to the protracted contract negotiations that delayed Season 4 but ultimately led to a deal ensuring another 70 episodes of Rick & Morty.

"I think it's safe to say without fear of being wrong that the gap between Seasons 3 and 4 will be the longest and last time that it's ever so long that it's ridiculous," Harmon said. "I don't know how fast we can do it, but I know it will never be this long again. There were so many things that had to be settled before we even started Season 4, and it's really safe to say we're literally writing Season 5 while finishing Season 4 just to force ourselves to commit to a certain schedule."

• First Rick & Morty Season 4 images released

The pair confirmed that Season 4 will consist of 10 episodes, and while they were reluctant to reveal many details, they did hint at what fans can expect. "Without giving anything away, we have serialized stuff we check in on now and then that's sprinkled over the top of strong episodic episodes," Roiland said. "To fans of the show, they're going to want to watch them in order. [And] I would definitely say watch all of Season 3 before Season 4."

The SDCC panel also brought the first Rick & Morty Season 4 footage. It features Morty and Jerry along with a new character played by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi. We also got a bit more discussion about what to expect from this season, how Season 5 will come much more quickly than Season 4--work is already underway--and other tidbits that should get fans excited.

Roiland also spoke about the biggest incident of the show's last SDCC appearance, in 2017: the McDonald's Szechuan sauce controversy. The fast-food giant released a limited edition version of the sauce, that was last sold in the 1990s and was referenced in a Season 3 episode of Rick & Morty. Unfortunately, demand was so high that many fans were unable to get hold of it. "Aside from it being a weird bit of a bummer for everybody, it was also an insane thing we never predicted," Roiland said. "That joke in our show would have caused giant multibillion-dollar corporation to bring back a sauce they used to serve in the late '90s."

Although a specific premiere date for Rick & Morty Season 4 has not been announced yet, eager fans can check out one of the new episodes ahead of its TV screening at the Adult Swim Festival. It takes place in Los Angeles and runs from Friday, November 15 to Saturday, November 16, and is described by Adult Swim as a "one-of-a-kind, 360-degree fan experience."