One Steven Spielberg classic secretly shaped the Rick and Morty movie

Right, Rick and Morty is officially getting the movie treatment, but don’t expect any solid plot details just yet. What little we actually know is just enough to get fans speculating, and – rather amusingly – most reckon it’s shaping up to be a Rick and Morty riff on Indiana Jones. Turns out, that’s not too far off the mark.

Hints From the Top

Cartoon Network’s top brass, Michael Ouweleen, let a few crumbs drop during a chat at the Annecy International Film Festival. Asked about what we should expect, he made it clear co-creator Dan Harmon hasn’t exactly been shy about wearing his Indiana Jones influences on his sleeve. Apparently, Harmon wants the film to feel like a genuine Spielberg adventure – that old-school buzz you get stumbling out of an Indiana Jones screening with the theme bouncing round your head.

'What Dan would want to do with the Rick and Morty movie is that he indelibly remembers going to see the Indiana Jones movies, so he’s solving for that feeling of walking out... He’s like, I want to replicate the feeling of walking out and hitting the pavement having just seen an Indiana Jones.'

Ouweleen even admitted Harmon’s holding himself to a ‘high bar’. In short, we’re not going to get half-baked TV-to-film syndrome. Or at least, that’s the hope.

So, What Do We Actually Know?

• The film is Adult Swim’s first ever Rick and Morty cinematic outing; after nine series and a mountain of memes, that's quite the milestone.
• It’s intended to work as a proper adventure, drawing inspiration (and apparently its structure) from Spielberg’s beloved Indiana Jones series.
• Newcomers shouldn’t panic – Ouweleen promised you don’t need to have crammed every convoluted Rick and Morty backstory to get what’s going on. Fresh eyes should have just as much fun as the diehards.
• There’s no word on release dates, no official title – when quizzed on that, Ouweleen just said 'Oh, God, no,' and left it at that. Classic studio stuff.
• It’s still unclear if the movie will slot into the main show’s ongoing story, or if it’ll go off on its own wild tangent.

What About Actual Plot or Casting Clues?

Don’t hold your breath. Details are being guarded like the Crown Jewels. The current vibe is that even properly connected fans are in the dark, and Cartoon Network is reveling in the mystery.

To sum up, Rick and Morty is hitting the big screen, channeling Indiana Jones, and the creators are clearly gunning for something epic rather than a lazy, cash-in job. The rest, for now, is mostly up for speculation.