If there is one thing you can expect out of Westworld, the show leaves you with more questions in your mind than answers. HBO's hit sci-fi/western-turned-dystopian series is known for keeping its viewers on edge, and this was well proven with the season 3 finale.
HBO announced Westworld season four at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. However, not many details were provided in this renewal announcement. Considering how the third season wrapped up, most of us are left with many questions.
So, let's dive right into everything we know about Westworld season 4!
Expected Release Date
The one thing we know for certain is that Westworld is returning for its fourth season. However, we still don't know when HBO will drop this season. Filming for season 4 began in June 2021. But considering this show has some heavy special effects, it does take longer to produce the whole season compared to a regular series.
The second season came out in 2018, two years after the first season. Similarly, the third season came out in 2020, two years after the second season. By that logic, it is safe to assume that the fourth season should be released sometime this year. We could expect some delay and maybe see a release date towards the end of the year, mainly because of the setback caused by the pandemic.
Cast: Who's In, Who's Out, and Who Stays?
If you are a true fan of Westworld, you know that a character's death does not always mean that that actor is out of the show. Considering many characters on the show are androids, it's quite likely that even with their character's death, their personality could be uploaded onto a different unit.
So far, there have been no announcements about any new additions to the main cast. That said, we can expect to see some familiar faces again. These include Aaron Paul (Caleb), Thandiwe Newton (Maeve), Luke Hemsworth (Ashley), Ed Harris (The Man in Black), and Jeffrey Wright (Bernard). One big name whose fate we aren't really sure of on the show is Dolores, played by Evan Rachel Wood, after her mind was completely erased during the third season's finale.
Westworld co-creator Jonathan Nolan did confirm that "Dolores is gone" in an interview with Variety. But like we said earlier, since Wood's character was an android, we wouldn't be too sure whether she has exited the show or not. In the same interview, Nolan went on to explain, "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." By the looks of this statement, it seems quite likely for Wood to return on the show but not as the character we've grown fond of in the last few seasons.
As reported by Deadline, there has been one new confirmed addition to the cast: Aurora Perrineau of the Prodigal Son fame. However, there aren't many details about her character other than her playing a key recurring role in about five episodes of the fourth season.
Westworld Season 4 Plot: What to Expect?
All the details about any future plans for Westworld have been relatively sparse. Thandiwe Newton, however, did share some information at The Paley Center for Media: "I have no idea what they have planned for me," the actress said. "I'm teamed with Tessa [Thompson], I know. Hopefully, we can do some rightful damage." We don't know about you, but just the thought of Newton and Thompson getting together and doing some damage has got us completely invested and in anticipation of the fourth season!
In that same Variety interview we previously mentioned, Nolan was asked whether they are going back into the park or into the real world in the upcoming season, to which he responded, "We love you, and we say this with the greatest respect, but there is no earthly way we're going to answer that question!"
This does not mean he didn't say anything at all. In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter following the season 2 finale, Nolan said, "The hosts have a different version of mortality, a different outlook. I think clearly with Dolores, as she's laid out, there is a longer view here, a larger set of goals. They're existential. They span eons. And that's a fascinating level of story to engage in."
It is likely that Westworld season 4 could pick up a few decades or even centuries later with the planet looking completely different. After all, in Westworld, there are no bounds to the world.