Rick and Morty are back in new bloodsoaked short

Rick and Morty may not be returning for a fresh batch of season 4 episodes anytime soon, but we’ve got the next best thing: a surprise short filled with buckets of blood, your usual Adult Swim-style wackiness, and more ninjas than you can shake a samurai sword at.

The five-minute-long mini-episode (which you can watch for yourself above) dropped out of nowhere over the weekend and features the grandpa-and-grandson duo getting the anime treatment – complete with Japanese dub.

The bloodletting begins early in this one as Rick – dubbed “Rick WTM-72” – is surrounded by those wanting to take Shogun Morty off his hands. So he takes off their hands. And eyes. And face. A fair word of warning: it’s probably not for the squeamish.

Shogun Morty even gets in on the act by removing the shins of his foes, before Rick engages in a fight with a hulking brute ninja that can only be described as a Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice boss fight on speed. Then, there’s a hallucination dream sequence – which is probably influenced by something a little stronger than speed – as Rick and Morty make their escape.

Despite the Rick and Morty season 4 return date still evading us, the short continues the trend of new content from the world of the sci-fi show. It follows on from a series of surreal Rick and Morty teasers that had fans thinking new episodes might be imminent. Unfortunately, no dice – but this is a nice (if very bloody) compromise.

Relive the duo's finest adventures with our rundown of the best Rick and Morty episodes

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Latest in Sci-Fi Shows
Diego Luna in Andor season 2
Andor season 2 showrunner Tony Gilroy calls Cassian “Star Wars Jesus” ahead of the show’s return on Disney Plus
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2
Andor season 2 showrunner Tony Gilroy breaks silence on the weird release schedule: "It's a Disney decision"
Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us
The Last of Us is "better" than 28 Days Later, says movie writer Alex Garland: "This is so much more sophisticated and moving"
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2
Andor season 2 showrunner talks the much-anticipated Star Wars moment that we haven't seen on screen before: "It's a very significant part of our show"
Fallout
Fallout season 2’s dazzling and dystopian New Vegas is coming to life in a new leaked video
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor
The first three episodes of the best Star Wars show are now available to watch for free ahead of the Andor season 2 premiere
Latest in News
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog