New faces, old characters given new programming,
and even a "West Side Story" actress in the new season of "Westworld?" All this and more as
season 4 inches ever closer to its release date. Watch this before you see "Westworld" season 4.
"Westworld" has been a main attraction of HBO's original programming for several years now,
and after the end of "Game of Thrones," it helped fill the network's need for fantastical,
high-concept thrill rides. Naturally, the series was renewed for a fourth season
before Season 3 had even ended. Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming,
released a statement to coincide with the renewal, stating,
"From the Western theme park to the technocratic metropolis of the near future, we've thoroughly
enjoyed every twist and turn from the minds of master storytellers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy."
There was a two-year break between Seasons 2 and 3 of "Westworld," which came out in 2018 and 2020,
respectively. Given that it's such a VFX-heavy show, it makes sense that the
"Westworld" creative team needs a lot of time to get everything to look
perfect in it. Fortunately, the long wait for Season 4 is nearly over, as the first proper
trailer for the next chapter of "Westworld" revealed a premiere date of June 26, 2022.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 finale of "Westworld"!
As fans of "Westworld" know all too well, a character dying doesn't necessarily mean
an actor is out of work. Considering a good portion of the characters are androids, it's
always possible for someone to die and then have their personality uploaded into a different unit.
Taking that into account, audiences should expect some familiar faces to return in
"Westworld" Season 4, including Thandiwe Newton as Maeve, Aaron Paul as Caleb,
Jeffrey Wright as Bernard, Luke Hemsworth as Ashley, and Ed Harris as The Man in Black.
The biggest question mark of all remains the fate of Evan Rachel Wood's character,
Dolores, who had her mind completely erased during the Season 3 finale.
In an interview with Variety, co-creator Jonathan Nolan confirmed that "Dolores is gone." However,
that doesn't mean Evan Rachel Wood is done with the show, with Nolan adding,
"I think it's important with a show in which death can be impermanent — these are robots,
after all — to mark the occasion with Dolores. That version of that character is gone."
Naturally, details have been kept sparse about any future plans for "Westworld." Star Thandiwe
Newton did, however, share some intel during an appearance at The Paley Center for Media.
"I have no idea what they have planned for me. I'm teamed with Tessa [Thompson], I know.
Hopefully, we can do some rightful damage."
While speaking to Variety, co-creator Jonathan Nolan was asked whether the show is staying in
the real world or going back into the park for the upcoming season, and he responded by saying,
"We love you, and we say this with the greatest respect,
but there is no earthly way we're going to answer that question!"
Sounds like we'll just have to wait and see what "Westworld" has to show us in Season 4.
"You start in the center of the park, it's simple,
safe. The further out you venture, the more intense the experience gets."
"Westworld" Season 3 built the most expansive world for our AI protagonists yet. Nonetheless,
our characters find the worlds they've escaped to aren't much better than the world from which
they've fled. Charlotte now works for and shares a consciousness with Dolores. The villainous
William, AKA The Man in Black, is trapped in a mental institution for the majority of the season,
and he's haunted by visions of Dolores and Emily — the daughter he killed.
People in power at Delos and the newly-introduced organization
Incite continue to attempt to play God, lording over both their human and artificial subjects.
Season 3 of "Westworld" carries on the themes of classism and morality begun in the first
two seasons, showing that very few humans stand worthy of the AI characters' trust.
While Season 3 of "Westworld" opened new, layered avenues for plotlines to travel down,
it also left many questions unanswered. For instance,
will Caleb have what it takes to lead the revolution for robots and
downtrodden humans? Will Dolores somehow manage to return and continue her relationship with Caleb?
How does the "Dolores pearl" that exists within Charlotte actually work? What did Bernard see
when he stared into The Sublime? Can a robot William embrace redemption and become a hero?
Story details for "Westworld" Season 4 have been hard to come by, but that hasn't stopped
fans from speculating on what's ahead for their favorite characters. "Westworld" has never been
a show to rely on obvious or safe storytelling, and there's no reason to think the sci-fi series
will start any time soon. Myriads of loose ends may or may not be resolved in Season 4,
but it's safe to assume that many unpredictable twists lie ahead.
The "Westworld" Season 4 trailer teases a lot of exciting possibilities,
but it doesn't give much detailed insight into what will ultimately happen, or what the world
looks like after the Los Angeles explosions. The biggest teases in the short, dialogue-free trailer
include the Man in Black returning to Westworld, as well as the return of Evan Rachel Wood.
We also see some intriguing shots of Maeve and Caleb, who both seem to be in a decent bit of
trouble. Given Caleb's vital role in the struggle for AI freedom, he could get captured by Incite,
or by some other nefarious power, at some point in the season. Based on the trailer alone,
it looks like character development is still at the heart of the story,
which should bode well for Season 4. The trailer also looks visually stunning, carrying the same
flair for vista shots and cool sci-fi locales that "Westworld" has always worn on its sleeve.
It's been revealed that "Westworld" Season 4 will mark the return of a former cast member, James
Marsden. Marsden played the sweet and loyal Teddy in Season 1 and Season 2. At the ATX Festival,
"Westworld" co-creator Lisa Joy confirmed that Marsden will play a Teddy look-alike who goes on
a date with Evan Rachel Wood's new character. Joy went on to confirm that, sadly, Dolores is dead,
and that Wood's new character Christina has some sort of relationship with Marsden's character.
Of course, it's tough to say whether or not the "Westworld" team is really telling the whole
truth. It's technically possible for Teddy and Dolores to grace our screens once again.
One of the most shocking twists of "Westworld" Season 1 is the revelation that Bernard Lowe
is a robot. Bernard spends the season creating, upgrading, and working with the Westworld AIs,
which makes it all the more heartbreaking when Bernard uncovers the truth of his identity.
His memories are false creations, and he's neither human nor fully one of the Westworld AIs.
"I understand what I'm made of, how I'm coded, but I do not understand the things that I feel."
And yet, Bernard strives to stay centered, even while he fears he's losing his mind.
In Season 3, Bernard meets his former wife, sort of, and is given newfound clarity about
his own nature. In an interview with Deadline, Wright discussed what's to come in Season 4.
"Season 4 is going to be more of the 'Westworld' you've come to expect and more digging down into
some issues and some technology that is going to look familiar to us, as always."
Speaking on Bernard's arc in particular, he said,
"Bernard is still trying to solve it all and he is still very much a part of the struggle.
The struggle goes on, and Bernard is right there at the center of it. It's gonna be fun."
In Seasons 1 and 2 of "Westworld," Anthony Hopkins played Dr. Robert Ford -– the man who started it
all. Ford has always been a complicated character -– at times villainous, and at other times the
biggest advocate for the robots of his theme park. Ultimately, Ford's own hubris and desire to play
God overshadows his best characteristics. At the end of Season 1, he's shot in the head by Dolores.
It was thought that the Season 1 finale would be the last of Hopkins on "Westworld," yet
Ford spoke from beyond the grave for much of Season 2. Before Season 2 began, Jonathan Nolan
spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about working with the screen and stage legend. He said,
"It was one of the greatest privileges of my career so far,
getting to work with Anthony for the first season."
Hopkins played Ford with such nuance and complicated humanity that it made for extremely
captivating television. Before "Westworld," he hadn't appeared on a TV show since 1989,
and seeing an actor of Hopkins' caliber perform week after week captivated many fans.
Sadly, the star didn't make any appearances in Season 3. However, with "Westworld," we've
learned to never say never, and it would be a delight to see Hopkins grace our screens again.
"Do you know what happened to the neanderthals, Bernard? We ate them."
Season 4 of "Westworld" looks positioned to introduce some exciting cast additions. Fresh
off her Academy Award win for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in "West Side Story,"
Ariana DeBose is set to be joining the HBO sci-fi show. At a panel at the ATX TV Festival,
series co-creator Lisa Joy announced that Ariana DeBose will play the roommate of Evan
Rachel Wood's new character, and that there may be some romantic tension between the two.
In addition to the new faces debuting in "Westworld" Season 4,
many former and current cast members could also find themselves playing
new characters. In an interview with Variety, Jonathan Nolan discussed the caliber of the
"Westworld" cast and how they lend themselves to the genre-bending stories he and Joy want to tell.
"The fun of the show from the beginning is that one actor can play several roles
and that the story shifts underneath them — shifts genres, shifts time."
Nolan continued,
"Obviously, it's an astonishing cast, and giving all of them something extremely
challenging is part of the fun of it. So I think we would anticipate seeing some or
many of these faces in very different circumstances, and very different relationships."
Hopefully, the dystopian world of "Westworld" season 4 will give fans
everything they've been waiting for. The new season premieres on HBO on June 26, 2022.
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