Adult Swim Unveils Rick and Morty Virtual Backgrounds for Zoom Parties

With so many Americans now working from home and having meetings via Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts, it’s sometimes hard to figure out a way to distinguish yourself from the sea of faces in little boxes on a toolbar. The good folks at Adult Swim have an idea for that, though, and have released custom virtual backgrounds that you can use on Zoom, in order to place yourself in the context of an image or environment that isn’t really there. Some of them have to be done with green screens, so you might need to come up with that, but newer computers and current versions of Zoom can mostly determine where you are against your background and place the virutal background regardless.

Adult Swim has released new virtual background options for ZOOM meetings for all fans of their programming to enjoy. These custom backgrounds feature iconic locations seen in Joe Pera Talks With You, Rick and Morty, and The Eric Andre Show.

You can check out the steps to set it up below.

• To make your virtual background, first, download one of the backgrounds from Dropbox via this link: https://bit.ly/2QYL4DN
• Open Zoom, go to SETTINGS or PREFERENCES, then select VIRTUAL BACKGROUND.
• Click on the + button to upload the new background you would like to use. A green screen may be necessary depending on the computer’s camera.
• Select the new background and you’re good to go.

Some computers, depending on operating system and system specs, will require a green screen in order to use the virtual background, although the idea here is that most newer computers will support it without needing additional hardware.

Using this same basic methodology, you an also take any given image and make it into a virtual background — although the size and resolution of these images is meant to look good on screen if you do.

Earlier this week, Rick & Morty released an anime-style short, titled “Samurai & Shogun.” Its plot is an homage to famous samurai fiction, most notably Lone Wolf & Cub. The short sees a Rick from a parallel dimension trying to escape with a Morty. The shogun sends his ninja assassins after Rick. A bloody confrontation follows. The intense fight does not end well at all for the Shogun’s ninja assassins.

The CG-animated short comes from producer Maki Terashima -; who is known for working with Production I.G. on projects including FLCL: Progressive, FLCL Alternative, and the upcoming Uzumaki anime — working with director Kaichi Sato.

Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco teased the surprise short ahead of its debut. “#Toonami fans, I feel really good about tonight’s little goodie. Something special just for you. I hope you enjoy it! Keep your eyes peeled!” he tweeted. He followed that up after its debut by tweeted, “Yeah so we spent a year putting together a five minute Rick and Morty Lone Wolf & Cub anime short for you guys. Here it is, hope you dig it! Don’t tell me we don’t have the most fun!”

The wait for the second half of Rick and Morty Season Four continues, but fans at least got a five minute Rick and Morty respite thanks to this anime short. Here are their reactions: