Star Trek and Rick and Morty crossing over sounded like fantasy back when the latter's former showrunner, Mike McMahon, first wrote Lower Decks. Fast forward to now, and Dan Harmon confirmed to CinemaBlend that it would actually be pretty easy to make it happen, despite Lower Decks' ending.
While speaking to Harmon and showrunner Scott Marader ahead of Rick and Morty's Season 9 return on the 2026 TV schedule, I brought up Warner Bros. Discovery's pending merger with Paramount Skydance and how that would put both franchises under the same umbrella. I asked if it would be possible for an official crossover to happen, even with Lower Decks off the air, and Harmon confirmed it'd be easier than I even thought to make it happen:
I mean, all those Lower Decks assets exist somewhere. Studios love saving money. There's a, there's a digital bin full of phasers and Jefferies tubes that already have been paid for.
He's right, and if Dan Harmon and crew say they want access to the Lower Decks assets for a crossover episode/special, is Paramount Skydance going to say no? If it were me, I wouldn't say no to one of the best animated series out there giving my legacy franchise some increased relevance.
And while Star Trek: Lower Decks and Rick and Morty have distinctly different styles in how their teams approach storytelling, Scott Marader confirmed there are people on staff who would be great for a crossover adventure. Beyond Lower Decks creator Mike McMahon serving as a previous showrunner for the series, Marader confirmed they have a former LD writer on staff:
We also share a writer with them. Garrick Bernard was a writer that worked on both, who's a big Star Trek fan.
Bernard, who contributed heavily to the first three seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, is now working on Rick and Morty, according to showrunner Scott Marader. He's not the only fan on staff who is a massive Trekkie as Dan Harmon is also a big fan of the franchise as well.
While Trekkies may worry Rick and Morty may lean too far into the "wtf" elements of The Next Generation or have Rick make Q look like a joke, I don't think that would be the case. If there's one thing I've learned from seasons of watching Rick and Morty, it's that the staff is loaded with people who love sci-fi. I wouldn't even hesitate at the thought of Lower Decks and Rick and Morty having a crossover, especially since the alternative is Lower Decks never returning to television.
My only hesitation would be that I'm not sure how the greater Rick and Morty fandom would react, and how they'd feel about a Trek-heavy episode or feature crossover. Not everyone may be as enthusiastic as I am about that happening, but with the series renewed through Season 12, maybe it doesn't matter? Surely we can spare one episode for the Trekkies, right?
Rick and Morty Season 9 airs on Adult Swim on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET. Season 9 is off to a great start thus far, and as someone who had a chance to see the entire season in advance, I can safely assure fans the best is yet to come.
