Bizarre Rick and Morty spoof took over Adult Swim on April Fools’ Day

Late last night, as people were getting ready to turn in after another successful April Fools’ Day, Adult Swim broadcast a message telling Rick and Morty fans to head over to its site.

Once there, fans were greeted with a strange, pseudo-Rick and Morty special that actually didn’t have much to do with Rick and Morty at all beyond the use of the titular characters. The short, called Bushworld Adventures, was written and directed by Michael Cusack, a popular YouTuber known for his psychedelic cartoon style. The short’s only about 10 minutes in length and by far the most disturbing Rick and Morty-inspired piece of work to come out of Adult Swim.

Bushworld Adventures plays on Rick and Morty’s abusive relationship, with Rick pointing a gun at Morty’s head and saying sexually explicit things while they wander around a forest. It takes place in an alternate universe, somewhere in Australia, and plays up the weirder aspects of Rick and Morty’s themes. The easiest way to understand why people on Twitter can’t stop talking about it is by watching the short below.

While many people eventually came to admire the short, other fans walked away disappointed that it wasn’t Rick and Morty’s official season four premiere. Co-creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland used April Fools’ Day last year to premiere Rick and Morty’s season three — the episode that contained the now infamous McDonald’s Szechuan sauce scene.

There may have been some lingering hope that an actual Rick and Morty episode is just around the corner, but fans should prepare for a longer wait. Both Harmon and Roiland, along with other writers on the show, have suggested that the fourth season isn’t being worked on at the moment as the team goes through contract negotiations with Adult Swim.

It’s a bummer, but remember that we were forced to wait more than 18 months for Rick and Morty’s third season and it was well worth it in the end. Rick and Morty’s fourth season is expected to return in late 2019.