Rick & Morty Live-Action: Casting The Other Smith Family Members
The Rick and Morty live-action casts Christopher Lloyd (Rick) and Jaeden Martell (Morty) as the grandfather-grandson duo, but it’s unclear whether there have been casting decisions made for the rest of the Smith family. Adult Swim recently released a live-action teaser with Back To The Future alumnus Christopher Lloyd as the eccentric Rick, which sent fans raving. The snippet shows Lloyd and Martell stepping out of the portal, a familiar scene for Rick and Morty viewers. It also included a sequence where Lloyd takes a massive bite from a pickle, an obvious nod to earlier episodes.
For the most part, the teaser has been used as promotional material for the season 5 finale. Now that the season is over, many are speculating whether the clip would be extended into a full storyline. Given the show’s proclivity to reality-bending and multiverse-hopping plots, an entire live-action segment is well within the realm of Rick and Morty’s future.
If that were to happen, the entire Smith family would need to have live-action counterparts, and they’d need to be just as fitting as Lloyd and Martell. Here are the stars who can bring the rest of the Smith family to life.
In a family of huge personalities, Jerry is the underdog. Throughout the first seasons, he’s constantly looking for employment (and failing). He’s frustrated about his circumstances, which strains his already rocky relationship with his father-in-law, Rick. Jerry may be misguided and end up looking the fool, but he does have his family’s best interests at heart.
There are tons of reasons why viewers (and characters) love to hate on Jerry, but when push comes to shove, he’s someone that people end up rooting for. And that’s what Joe Lo Truglio does best. He’s most recognizable in his Brooklyn Nine-Nine role, where he plays the charming and equally hilarious Charles Boyle. Lo Truglio can make audiences laugh as well as come off as sincere, a delicate balance that Jerry exists in.
Beth is Rick’s daughter, Morty and Summer's mother, and a veterinarian. Growing up, Beth had big dreams of becoming a heart surgeon until she got pregnant with Summer on prom night, that is. This dampens her dreams and may be why she has a deep resentment toward her husband. She may have a superiority complex, but she’s also quite compassionate and caring.
And few would make a better Beth (both the real one and Space Beth) than Heather Graham. She exudes confidence and self-assurance, two traits that Beth definitely embodies. Graham has starred in the hit series Twin Peaks and Scrubs. She has even played the love interest in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Beth often acts like she is out of Jerry’s league — reinforced by Rick’s snide comments — and Graham can similarly carry that off well.
Summer is the Smiths’ eldest child, who enjoys a little sibling rivalry with Morty. Both children compete for Rick’s attention and affection, and they're not shy about it. As the series progresses, Summer is onboard more intergalactic adventures, angling to replace Morty as Rick's sidekick in the process.
With her girlish charms, Maya Hawke is a great casting choice for Summer. She may be known to most for being the daughter of Hollywood stars, Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, but she’s also proved herself in Stranger Things, Fear Street, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Hawke’s filmography shows just how she can do humor and depth at the same time, and those are Summer’s character traits that Rick and Morty fans are drawn to.