Furious fans of a cartoon have forced McDonald's to bring back Szechuan McNugget sauce after a botched limited-time release
After facing intense backlash in restaurants and online, McDonald's has pledged to bring back more of the sauce.
"Szechuan Sauce is coming back once again this winter," the chain posted on Twitter on Sunday.
"And instead of being one-day-only and limited to select restaurants, we're bringing more - a lot more - so that any fan who's willing to do whatever it takes for Szechuan Sauce will only have to ask for it at a nearby McDonald's," the statement continued.
On Saturday, McDonald's had a "really, really limited" roll-out of the sauce. Dozens of customers showed up at select locations across the US, only to find that each restaurant only had 20 to 40 sauce packets and 10 "Rick and Morty" posters.
The backlash was swift and intense.
In Wellington, Florida, the scene at McDonald's heated up to such a degree that the police had to be called. Online, "Rick and Morty" fans called for a boycott of the fast-food chain.
At a Manhattan McDonald's, people showed up hours in advance in hopes of getting some Szechuan sauce, only to be turned away by employees for showing up too early.
With Comic Con in New York City this weekend, many "Rick and Morty" fans attending the convention were upset to be turned away after they attempted to get their hands on the limited-time offering.
Currently, packets of the sauce are selling for more than $200 on eBay.
Demand for the return of Szechuan sauce, a plum sauce that was available for a limited time in 1998 to promote the Disney movie "Mulan," began in April when the sauce was featured on an episode of "Rick and Morty." The Adult Swim cartoon's season premiere ended with a plea from mad scientist Rick for McDonald's to bring back its Szechuan McNugget sauce.
"I'm not driven by avenging my dead family," Rick says in the episode's closing minutes. "I'm driven by finding that McNugget sauce. I want that 'Mulan' McNugget Sauce. ... That's my series arc, Morty. If it takes nine seasons, I want that McNugget Szechuan sauce."