Keith David is bringing the dimension-hopping President Curtis to his own show. A new spinoff from the Rick & Morty universe, titled simply President Curtis, was announced this week at San Diego Comic Con 2026 during an IGN panel.

David, who has voiced the character since his introduction in Rick & Morty, will reprise the role full time. He was joined on the panel by co-stars Stephanie Beatriz, Jim Rash, series co-creator Dan Harmon, and James Siciliano. The five of them sat down with IGN to discuss why President Curtis was the right character to spin off and how David prepared to play the commander-in-chief week to week.

President Curtis remains a cipher. The spinoff takes the version of the president first seen in the Rick & Morty episode “Look Who’s Purging Now” — a silver-haired, gravel-voiced leader who runs a pocket dimension full of debt-fueled vampire politics. At least, that part is clear from the panel’s promotional tagline: “President Curtis Tackles the Deficit and Vampires.” The show will likely lean into the character’s signature blend of fiscal and monster policy.

Why President Curtis?

According to the panelists, the choice to spin off President Curtis over other Rick & Morty side characters came down to his unique position in the show’s cosmology. President Curtis exists outside the Smith family drama — he is a head of state who travels between dimensions, enforcing debt collection and battling vampire insurgencies. That premise gives the writers room to explore political satire, absurdist horror, and bureaucratic comedy without stepping on the core Rick & Morty mythology.

The creators also felt David’s performance deserved a wider canvas. David, best known for his deep voice and commanding presence in The Thing, Platoon, and Community, first voiced President Curtis in 2015. The character quickly became a fan favorite for his deadpan delivery and improbable authority. Dan Harmon and James Siciliano (a writer on Rick & Morty who is also attached to the spinoff) said during the panel that the President’s world already felt fully formed — it just needed its own runtime.

Stephanie Beatriz and Jim Rash were also on stage, though their roles in the spinoff remain unconfirmed. Beatriz, known for Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Encanto, brings sharp comedic timing. Rash, a longtime collaborator of Harmon’s from Community, adds his signature sarcasm. Their casting suggests President Curtis will have a supporting cast of dimension-hopping aides, rivals, or antagonists.

What we know so far

The IGN panel at SDCC 2026 was the first public look at the show. No trailer was shown, but the cast teased a mix of standalone episodes and an overarching arc involving the “deficit” — presumably the national debt of the pocket dimension — and the vampire threat. The deficit-vampire link is a classic Rick & Morty joke: treat a mundane political problem as if it’s a literal monster. President Curtis follows through on that premise.

Keith David talked about preparing to play the president full time. He mentioned that switching from a recurring bit part to a lead role meant expanding the character’s range. In Rick & Morty, President Curtis appeared in short bursts, always delivering punchlines about debt collection or vampire hunting. The spinoff, David said, asks him to show the president’s decision-making process and occasional vulnerability.

The panel was held in partnership with Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, Alienware, and BRISK x Splatoon Raiders — a sponsorship deal that likely funded the appearance but has no bearing on the show’s content.

A spinoff that makes sense

Rick & Morty has spawned a few peripheral projects — the anime series Rick and Morty: The Anime, the comic books, the video games — but President Curtis is the first live-action (or rather, traditionally animated) spinoff centered on a secondary character. The move signals that Adult Swim sees value in expanding the universe beyond the Smith family.

President Curtis shares DNA with other Harmon projects that mix high-concept sci-fi with workplace comedy. The show could feel like a cross between The West Wing and What We Do in the Shadows, filtered through the cynical lens of Rick & Morty. Given that the original series is currently between seasons, President Curtis arrives at a moment when fans are hungry for more content from that universe.

The panel closed without announcing a release window or network. Given the Comic Con reveal, a late 2026 or early 2027 premiere on Adult Swim is plausible, but neither Harmon nor the network has confirmed anything.

For now, President Curtis remains a welcome mystery. The deficit is growing. The vampires are at the gate. And Keith David is back in the chair.