Dan Harmon confirms a Rick and Morty movie script is in progress

Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon just confirmed what fans have been speculating about for years: a movie is in the pipeline, and the script work is already underway. Speaking to ScreenRant while promoting the forthcoming spin-off President Curtis, Harmon said they are “picking away at that as a script right now,” adding, with a joke that made the point, “Oh, that is on Ruby on Rails, baby. That’ll be released next summer.” Then he clarified the actual status: writing is happening now, and the goal is to deliver the finished script to whoever the production is working with when that stage is done.

This is the part executives should care about, because it is unusually concrete for a studio-announcement phase. Harmon also named the person attached to direct, saying, “We are now able to confirm that there is a movie in the works. Jacob Hair is the director.” Hair is a longtime series director who has worked on Rick and Morty since its fourth season and currently serves as supervising director on the show’s ninth run. In other words, this is not just a rights-grab or a vague “someday” pitch. The series leadership is being carried forward into the film pipeline.

Why does that matter beyond fandom fireworks? Because Rick and Morty is a show built on precise timing, voice, and iterative writers’ room energy. When a series gets adapted into a movie, the biggest risk is that the creative process gets restructured for feature-length production in a way that breaks what made the original work. Harmon’s comments suggest a workaround that is common in animation, where production schedules do not depend on coordinating live-action actor availability. He explained that work on the film can continue alongside the television series because they “don’t have to wrangle cartoons’ schedules,” describing the characters as “drawings of people,” meaning the script and related planning can be “picked away at the same time as doing the show.”

That scheduling flexibility is an important second-order signal for studios, producers, and partners. A movie that starts with parallel development can reduce the typical lag between series momentum and feature execution. If the film writing and planning can proceed without waiting for a cast calendar, then the project can be timed more closely to IP lifecycle moments, like end-of-season arcs and renewal cycles. In this case, the show is currently nearing the end of its ninth season. Harmon’s confirmation lands as the series is moving toward its finale, rather than as a standalone project announced in isolation.

The immediate on-ramp for the audience is also clear in the source. The finale, “Field Of Dreams,” will air on Adult Swim in the US this Sunday (July 26). In the UK, it arrives on NOW and HBO Max on Monday (July 27). President Curtis, the spin-off, will premiere on Adult Swim immediately after the US broadcast of the finale, with episodes reaching HBO Max the following day. Created by Harmon and James Siciliano, the spin-off stars Keith David as President Andre Curtis alongside Stephanie Beatriz and Jim Rash. This matters because it shows the studio is not waiting for a movie to keep the brand moving. The franchise is actively expanding into new formats while the feature script is being built.

For decision-makers, the film confirmation also sits inside a larger business picture. The main Rick and Morty series has already been renewed up until season 12, which is expected to keep it on air until at least 2029. That renewal runway gives room for both short-term audience retention and longer-term IP monetization, and it reduces the pressure to rush a feature before the series can reach natural creative milestones. In other words, the company can treat the movie as a staged investment rather than a last-ditch gamble.

There is also a broader industry context hinted at in the source: Zack Snyder had previously expressed interest in directing a Rick and Morty film and offered to help get the project moving. He and James Gunn later made cameo appearances in the series, playing exaggerated versions of themselves and arguing about Gunn’s Superman. The episode reportedly included Snyder telling Gunn, “Word of advice - he’s the Man of Steel, not the Man of Conversation,” and “Do more shots of him punching.” While Snyder is not described as the director of the upcoming film here, the references show how many high-profile creators orbit this kind of IP, and how attention can accumulate over time even before official production steps are confirmed.

Bottom line for executives and board members: Harmon is signaling that the Rick and Morty movie is not stuck in concept limbo. Script writing is happening now, direction is assigned to Jacob Hair, and the team believes the animation workflow makes parallel development feasible with the series. If you are evaluating similar IP expansions, the strategic lesson is straightforward: the best feature adaptations often start with creative continuity and operational scheduling flexibility, so momentum does not get lost between “brand success on TV” and “scale on the big screen.”