Justin Roiland Regrets Szechuan Sauce Frenzy Caused By ‘Rick And Morty’ Fans

Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland says he had no idea how popular the limited-time McDonald’s Szechuan sauce would become after writing it into Season 3 of the show. For that, Roiland is sorry.

It all started on April Fool’s Day when the Season 3 premiere of Rick and Morty streamed on the Adult Swim website. In the premiere, titled “The Rickshank Rickdemption,” Rick and Morty travel back in time to 1998. Coincidentally, that is the year that McDonald’s offered a limited-time Szechuan dipping sauce for their nuggets that was tied to the release of Disney’s Mulan.

After the episode aired, the Szechuan sauce buzz began, prompting a McDonald’s chef to create three special 64-ounce bottles that were awarded to lucky Rick and Morty fans on Twitter. That promotion caused even more demand for Szechuan sauce, which McDonald’s attempted to capitalize on by making the dipping sauce available for just one day on October 7.

The fast-food giant massively underestimated the Rick and Morty fanbase, who showed up in droves hoping to get their hands on the coveted Szechuan sauce. However, even those McDonald’s locations who did participate only received a very limited number of dipping sauces, with some restaurants reportedly only getting 20 packets.

Rick and Morty fans weren’t pleased to learn that they wouldn’t be leaving with Szechuan sauce after standing in long lines to get some. In some cases, the angry Szechuan sauce seekers got unruly and started chanting about their sauce, causing police to be called.

TMZ caught up with the Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland at LAX and asked him about the sauce made popular by his animated series. It turns out that Roiland regrets having Rick travel back to 1998 to stock up on the limited-time sauce.

Roiland claims that he had no idea that writing about the Mulan-inspired McDonald’s Szechuan sauce would set off such a firestorm. After all, many Rick and Morty fans aren’t even old enough to remember the chicken nugget dipping sauce the first time it was offered at the fast-food restaurant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEpcOM6-O9s

While Justin Roiland says he understands that his fans were upset after waiting, all night in some cases, to get their hands on the special item. However, he’s more upset that those who work at McDonald’s were harassed by angry Rick and Morty fans over the lack of Szechuan sauce during the promotion.

The great news is that, after the October Szechuan sauce debacle and the insane popularity of Rick’s favorite sauce, McDonald’s announced that they would be bringing it back again. While no official release date has been announced, Rick and Morty fans can look forward to unlimited Szechuan sauce when McDonald’s brings it back for good this time as seen in their statement below.

[Featured Images by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]