Head writer of Loki and ex-producer of Rick and Morty, Michael Waldron, talked about the similarities between Disney+’s series and season 5 of the animated show. Loki is at the end of its first season run. After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) causes a nexus event that puts him on the radar of the Time Variance Authority (TVA). When Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) convinces him to help track down another Loki variant, there’s a whole lot of hopping around time and space.

Rick and Morty has also enjoyed its time playing with its own multiverse, especially as it applies to variants of the two lead characters and their family. In episode 3 of the current season, titled “A Rickconvenient Mort,” Rick brings his niece, Summer, to a few different planets that are set to soon experience an apocalypse. Despite his promise to Summer that this trip was supposed to be only for partying, Rick ends up in an unlikely romance with an alien from one of the doomed planets.

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In SR‘s recent interview with Waldron, he spoke about the chatter that has been circulating about the similarities between the two shows. He admitted that when he got involved with Loki that he was still going to be working with a multiverse in similar ways that he did with Rick and Morty. However, he noted that he’s kept in touch with Rick and Morty co-creator, Dan Harmon. Additionally, he didn’t express feeling as if he stole from that show. See below for his full statement:

“I guess there’s always different versions of Rick out there. The decoys, in fact, those were those were clone robots. I knew when I took the job that I was going to be playing in the same kind of multiversal sandbox and stuff. But I’ve traded texts and stuff with Harmon. So far, I don’t think I’ve ripped him off too bad. We’ll see.”

There have been a lot of similarities between Loki and Rick & Morty, although it’s especially noticeable in the most recent episode of the latter series. As they’re hopping from one planet to the next, the overall visual aesthetic seen on each one isn’t too far off from those in Loki. Given the fact that Waldron was a producer on the animated show and created Loki, it’s not too surprising to see some similarities between the two. However, episodes of Rick and Morty feel much more self-contained while Loki is more of a continuous story. The characters suffer consequences for their actions throughout the show and will continue to see the impact of their decisions in future Marvel properties.

The Disney+ series and the Adult Swim show both deliver on what they seek to accomplish, although their similarities have become increasingly more difficult to ignore. The multiverse theories, nexus events, and apocalypses are discussed across both shows. However, their tone is quite different. While Loki certainly has plenty of moments with comic relief, Rick and Morty displays a lot of its adult humor throughout. Loki still very much fits within the context of the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Rick and Morty is much more heavy-handed with its tonal shifts that move between vulgar humor and dark themes that can feel like a punch to the gut.

Key Release Dates
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  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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About The Author


Jeff Nelson
(221 Articles Published)

Jeff Nelson is a news senior writer for Screen Rant and a film critic for DVD Talk. He has worked in areas of the entertainment industry including film criticism, content acquisitions, and research. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cinema & Television with an emphasis in Media Management and again in 2019 with a Master’s degree in Sociology. His passion for film began by watching Titanic on repeat as a child until the dual-VHS tapes wore out. While he still loves big Hollywood features, his movie taste expanded to independent filmmaking, foreign, and the horror genre. Each year, he looks forward to seeing the breakout films from the festival circuit. When he isn’t watching or writing about film, Jeff is discovering new music, playing video games, and seeking out unique bars and restaurants to try. Follow Jeff on Twitter @SirJeffNelson.

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