The Rick and Morty soundalikes weren’t the only voice swaps in the season 7 premiere

polygon.com:

We don’t hear Rick or Morty talk for the entire cold open of Rick and Morty season 7. For those attuned to behind-the-scenes upheaval — of co-creator and star Justin Roiland being fired after allegations of domestic violence and troubling professional behavior surfaced — it seemed like a slow play. For months, the creators behind Rick and Morty talked about hiring “soundalikes” to step into the lead roles (both played by Roiland), but wouldn’t say who they were. At San Diego Comic-Con, executive producer Steve Levy would only say that they sound the same, and “the characters are the same characters. No change.”

When we finally do hear them after the theme song, both Rick and Morty sound… virtually the same. Now played by actors Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden respectively, it’s possible even a seasoned viewer of the series wouldn’t notice Rick and Morty are played by new people at all. Morty is just as nasally and awkward; Rick’s voice is slightly less gravelly but no less grouchy.

This was the hope of showrunner Scott Marder and co-creator Dan Harmon, who told Hollywood Reporter they screened “thousands” of voices to get the transition as seamless as possible. “For all those people who are just tuning in to the show as if nothing has changed, I wanted them to have the maximum fan experience they could have without any distraction,” Marder said.

Over the course of the premiere, even the slight differences wear off, and it can be easy to forget you’re listening to a new cast member entirely. In fact, you might not even notice that Mr. Poopybutthole — prominently featured in both the cold open and the episode — is also a Roiland soundalike. In “How Poopy Got His Poop Back,” Rick stages an intervention for Mr. Poopybutthole,