Spoilers below for any TV viewers who didn’t watch Rick and Morty’s Season 7 premiere, so be warned!
Few Rick and Morty premiere eps have been anticipated in quite the same way as the opener for the seventh season, as all eyes and ears were on the Adult Swim animated hit in regards to former star and co-creator Justin Roiland being fired and replaced for the titular roles and beyond. Wisely, showrunner Scott Marder & Co. gave viewers another noteworthy voice to pay attention to, as past and future Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman joined the drunken festivities taking place in “How Poopy Got His Poop Back.” It was a total hoot to have the Koala Man co-star back in animated form, though this time playing himself, even though the ill timing of things made for a very awkward animated reference and joke made directly about Jackman’s marriage.
As many fans may already be aware, Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announced in September that they’re now separated after 27 years as a married couple. It’s clearly a difficult time for the actor, even if close friends indicate that the split was a natural fit, and he’s already set to put his thoughts about that matter on paper for an upcoming bombshell-filled memoir. And so it was quite shocking when the middle of Rick and Morty’s first Season 7 episode featured a scene in Jackman’s home, where a wedding photo was prominently displayed hanging on the wall.
It’s clear that the animators used real pics from Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness’ wedding day when designing the illustrated photograph. From the Music Man star’s glasses to the bride’s hair and neck, the details line up with the actual event that took place in April 1996. Had this cameo and reference cropped up in any of the previous six seasons, it likely would have seemed like a genuinely sweet detail from a show that often skews sour. But now the wedding pic sight has to feel like the unhappiest of reminders, and one has to wonder if Jackman even remembers recording that scene, or if he ever watched the finalized ep after the animation was completed.
All that said, the jokey dialogue between Jackman and Mr. Poopybutthole in the moment does kind of feel like it’s poking fun at the marriage breaking down, with a joke that no doubt felt far more randomly meaningless when it was written.
- Jackman: The best bloody day of my life.
- Mr. Poopybutthole: My wedding was pretty great, too.
- Jackman: I was talking about the Tony award.
At which point he tossed the Tony up in the air as a skeet substitute, and it was shot to bits. So if he’s feeling that kind of way about a treasured award, just imagine the alternative.
The rest of the art adorning animated Hugh Jackman’s walls is a bit less intense than more wedding pics. Much of it, in fact, is directly referencing his career-defining role as Wolverine throughout the various X-Men trilogies and standalone features. One of the posters for Jack-Men just puts the actor playing every mutant role. It’s probably too expensive to actually make that happen in live-action, but maybe SNL can put something together around the time Deadpool 3’s release date arrives.
Fans can watch and stream new Rick and Morty episodes every Sunday night on Adult Swim at 11:30 p.m. ET, while a Max subscription is the best way to check out new eps the next day.
