The popularity of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty grew exponentially over the course of the third season, leaving fans, new and old, wondering when we'll get to feast our eyes on Season 4. Series creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are notorious for taking their time in between seasons, but normally there's at least an announcement stating that the show has been renewed. However, that is not the case this time and Rick and Morty fans are starting to freak out a little and turn hostile towards the creators and the network. Dan Harmon has now come forward to tell the real reasoning behind the wait.

Dan Harmon appeared on Kevin Smith's Smodcast and opened up about the contract negotiations that are taking place, which are holding up Season 4 of Rick and Morty. Harmon addressed the recent backlash by fans who thought that it was strange to see their beloved characters in a Run the Jewels video instead of working on the new season. He also mentioned that the contract negotiations had become rather "complicated" this time around. Harmon explains.

"....I don't want any Rick and Morty fan hearing that and going like Harmon's on Smith's podcast and he's talking about how it's great how he takes as much time off as he wants. The reason why we we're not working on Rick and Morty right now ain't because I figured out that I don't need to impress you (laughs). It's a little something called contract negotiations, and it's gotten complicated this time around."

It makes total sense why contract negotiations have become "difficult" this time around. As previously stated, Rick and Morty's popularity has grown to pop culture levels over the last year. The once cult show is now the number one comedy series on television. There's merchandising now and never mind the McDonald's Szechuan sauce craze that nearly started riots across North America.

The ball is clearly in the court of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, who are more than likely asking for some more money for Season 4 of Rick and Morty. Money is always an issue, but there could be other factors involved here as well. Rick and Morty is done in a type of punk rock-fashion, in that it doesn't really follow any production schedules, leaving Harmon and Roiland to do what they need to make episodes happen, which has angered some members of the crew over the years for the glacial movement with the hit show.

If Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are able to command more money for the next season of Rick and Morty, the network will more than likely have some conditions that must be met in order to justify more money. This is all speculation at this point, but Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland might not want to turn Rick and Morty into a corporate-style operation, which puts both parties in an interesting predicament. Whatever the case may be, hopefully they come to an agreement soon for the sake of Rick and Morty fans everywhere. You can check out the whole interview with Dan Harmon on Kevin Smith's Smodcast.