Rick and Morty Anime Short Goes Full Lone Wolf & Cub!

While we wait patiently for the remaining 5 episodes of Adult Swim’s animated smash Rick and Morty to premiere sometime this year (fingers crossed), the network has given fans a special treat to tide them over. A five-minute Rick and Morty anime parody has debuted, offering a takeoff on the classic manga/film series Lone Wolf & Cub, which you can check out in the player below!

Click here to purchase the initial 5 episodes of Rick and Morty Season 4!

Created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf & Cub ran as a serialized comic book series from 1970 to 1976, chronicling the samurai executioner turned ronin Ogami Ittō as he traveled with his young son Daigorō to take revenge on the shogun. Six Lone Wolf and Cub live-action feature films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami Ittō were released in the early 70’s, later compiled in english as Shogun Assassin (1980). The latter was famously sampled by The Wu-Tang Clan and featured in Kill Bill. Disney+ series The Mandalorian is also heavily inspired by the Lone Wolf series.

Click here to purchase Lone Wolf & Cub on Criterion Blu-ray! Click here to purchase the manga series!

RELATED: Rick and Morty Season 4 Trailer: Half the Season You Deserve!

Taika Waititi (The Mandalorian, What We Do in the Shadows), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Paul Giamatti (Billions) and Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone) appeared as guest voices in Season 4.

Rick and Morty had been previously renewed for 70 episodes, spread out over an undetermined amount of seasons, although a typical Rick and Morty season is 10 episodes. Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have stated that there will be a serialized element to every episode of Season 4, while each will feature a strong story that stands on its own as well.

In Season 4, Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) is still living with his daughter Beth’s (Sarah Chalke) family and causing more trouble than ever. This season the rest of the family, his son-in-law Jerry (Chris Parnell), grand-daughter Summer (Spencer Grammer) and grandson Morty (Justin Roiland) are dragged into Rick’s intergalactic adventures, as he faces new threats and mysteries of his secret past are revealed. Can the family survive Rick’s insanity and all the chaos the universe throws at them?

RELATED: Rick and Morty Season 4 Clip With Taika Waititi

Created and executive produced by Dan Harmon (Community) and Justin Roiland (Adventure Time), the half-hour animated series follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe.