'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Release Date: Why It Could Arrive This Christmas

Nobody knows much of anything about Rick and Morty Season 4. The series has been off the air for more than a year, and even though at least 70 more episodes are definitely in the works, there isn’t a release date or trailer in sight. But what if there’s a surprise Rick and Morty Christmas special in the works for sometime in December 2018?

This is just a theory, but there’s evidence to support Rick and Morty airing some kind of Christmas episode this year. If true, it would mean we’re due for a surprise episode not unlike the Season 3 premiere that aired April 1, 2017 without any notice whatsoever.

When Adult Swim aired the Season 3 finale, “The Rickchurian Mortydate,” it came with a post-credits scene featuring Mr. Poopybutthole and his family. Addressing the camera, he says directly, “See ya for Season 4 in like … a really long time! I might even have a big, white Santa Claus beard!”

What if he does actually grow a Santa Claus beard because the next episode takes place, and airs, around Christmas?

Normally, we’d probably just write off Mr. Poopybutthole’s comment as one big joke, but in the Season 2 post-credits scene (which aired October 4, 2015), he said, “tune into Rick and Morty Season 3 — in like — a year and a half … or longer!” Then, “The Rickshank Rickdemption” aired on April 1, 2017 almost exactly a year and a half later.

So maybe we ought to pay closer attention to what Mr. Poopybutthole says?

He doesn’t give any specific time frame for Season 4’s release other than “a really long time,” but him saying, “I might even have a big, white Santa Claus beard!” feels like a clue that maybe the next episode will air around Christmas time. And because December 25, 2018 will already be more than a year and two months after Season 3 ended, it feels like it’s at least possible.

Maybe Season 4 begins with a Christmas special and then continues several months later, much like how Season 3 started with an April Fool’s Day episode and didn’t return until July of that year.

We might as well also consider that, historically, there’s no bigger sci-fi show with Christmas specials than Doctor Who.

And what do you know: In the Season 3 Rick and Morty finale, Rick screams, “You don’t know what I am! And you don’t know what I can do! I’m Doctor Who in this motherfucker!” These details are only tangentially related at best, but for hardcore fans desperate for more Rick and Morty, these little hints might actually lead somewhere.

Previously, the closest thing we got to a Christmas special in Rick and Morty was “Anatomy Park,” which was set on Christmas Day.

Maybe in 2018 we’ll get so much more. An actual Christmas episode AND Rick and Morty Season 4, even if it’s just one new episode.

Rick and Morty Season 4 will air sometime, but there’s no official announcement just yet.

For more about Mr. Poopybutthole’s personal history, check out “The Poop in My Pants.”