Rick and Morty is no stranger to celebrity guest stars: Stephen Colbert, Susan Sarandon, and Werner Herzog have all stopped by. Jemaine Clement voiced a gaseous entity named Fart. Matthew Broderick was a talking cat known as Talking Cat. And, most infamously, Elon Musk once appeared as a billionaire named… Elon Tusk.
But Sunday’s Season 7 premiere featured the series’ most dazzling cameo so far. In fact, it’s the kind of cameo that any live-action show would kill for—but only Rick and Morty would offer this award-winning actor a chance to play a version of himself this wild.
[Warning: Spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 7 ahead.]
The first episode of Season 7, “How Poopy Got His Poop Back,” features none other than Hugh Jackman voicing a drunken, oft-naked, self-absorbed version of himself. This isn’t as random as it sounds: Jackman co-stars in Koala Man, an animated Hulu series formerly executive-produced by disgraced Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland. You could consider him a friend of the family.
And that’s what he becomes to Rick in “How Poopy Got His Poop Back.” He joins Rick and his mixed-species bros on their night out, getting Mr. Poopybutthole liquored up to help him forget about his ex-wife. Because Rick is supremely, inexplicably well-connected, he’s friendly with Jackman. (They both hosted the Oscars, Rick says.) When the group runs into him at a club, Jackman invites them over to his “Jack Shack.”
Rick’s neighbor/straitlaced pal Gene (Tom Kenny) warns the crew that maybe that’s not a good idea—he knows Jackman, and that guy is “pretty anti-limitation. When he parties, it can get extreme.” But Mr. Poopybutthole wants to party, so party they shall.
Gene’s right, and things do get extreme. Jackman gives the guys a ton of pills, lets them do target practice with his Tony Award—even though he says winning it was the greatest day of his life, better than his wedding—and encourages Mr. Poopybutthole to go after his wife, despite Rick’s warning. This Jackman is reckless and demanding, turning Rick’s friends against him and taking them out to see Mrs. Poopybutthole. He’s also got a propensity for singing constantly, helping PB serenade his ex with Billy Ocean’s “Caribbean Queen.”
During his cameo, Jackman is totally game to lampoon his public image and career. He uses his stage voice and belts theatrically at any chance; he has posters of Wolverine all over his house; he’s got a gigantic nude portrait of himself hanging above his trophy case. When Mr. Poopybutthole stands up to Rick about wanting to see his wife, Jackman congratulates him on “Wolverine-ing.” The man contains multitudes—he’s an X-Man and a song-and-dance man!—and this episode lets him embrace both sides of his persona.
After all that, it’s only fitting that Jackman ends up killing the Predator, who Mr. Poopybutthole’s ex is now dating. (This show is weird, people.) And he uses his Grammy, which he somehow won for “Caribbean Queen,” to do it. Also, he’s naked and covered in mud, because that’s just how things go on Rick and Morty. Will we see Jackman again after this long, fateful night with the boys? Probably not. But one episode with him is more than we’d even know to ask for.
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