Rick And Morty co-creator and star Justin Roiland is currently facing criminal charges in California, in relation to a complaint filed in May 2020.
NBC reports that the voice actor has been charged with “one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit.” The charges are in relation to an as-of-yet unnamed woman who was dating Roiland at the time.
Most of the court records related to the case remain sealed, but NBC reports that Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges in 2020. Since then, there have been a number of pre-trial hearings, including one in which Roiland appeared this Thursday. An official trial date has not yet been set.
There was also a protective order filed in October 2020, stating that Roiland is “not to harass, threaten or surveil the person named in the protective order” and must “turn in any firearms he owned or possessed.” He is also not allowed to be within 100 feet of the person named in the order.
Roiland was initially charged in May 2020 and was arrested and released in August on a $50,000 bond. He was arraigned in October 2020.
Rick And Morty finished up its sixth season this past December. The show currently has plans for a seventh season, but a release date has not yet been set. It is unclear how the trial may affect the show.
Roiland’s other major project Solar Opposites, which he co-created with Mike McMahan (Star Trek: Lower Decks) and also voice-acts on, has already been renewed for seasons four and five at Hulu. Both seasons have yet to air. Roiland’s status on this project also remains unclear.