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‘Westworld’ Season 2: Release Date, Returning Cast And Burning Questions

By Frank Yemi
Published on: 21:09 PST, Dec 15, 2016

Westworld will be returning for Season 2 after a revealing conclusion to the first season that answered many questions, while creating many more that we can look forward to when the series returns. As for the release date, many fans will be disappointed to find out that it will not return next year. The showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy confirmed that the popular HBO series will get a release date in 2018.

In an interview with Variety magazine, the creators of Westworld gave some insight into their decision not to release Season 2 next year.

“We wanted to in the second season spend some more time writing, then switch gears into production, then cut. So we’re not going to follow the annual year-on-year tradition of television. Television’s changing. And the ambition of the project is such that we’re going to take our time to get the second season right.”

After ten exciting episodes of the Westworld western thriller, the finale answered a lot of questions about Ford’s motives. Warning: Season 1 spoilers ahead.

It was revealed that the Man in Black is an older version of William and he forces Dolores to remember that she killed Arnold as he wished and she has been Wyatt all along. It also turns out that Ford believed in Arnold’s vision of liberating the host from the oppressors. However, Ford knew that they were not ready and has spent the last 35 years preparing them. Ford then gives a speech and Dolores kills him in a similar way she killed Arnold.

The host then has their revenge of the guest as many emerge from the forest.

The first confirmed returning cast member is Ed Harris, who will reprise his role as the Man in Black. Harris told a BBC Radio 4 host that the creators of the series confirmed his return for Westworld Season 2. In the finale, his character gets shot in the arm as the host began shooting the guest. The older William seemed pleased at this but is not shown dying.

It is also possible that he returns as a host or a flashback/forward as Jimmi Simpson. We will have to wait to find out.

Many fans expect Thandie Newton’s Maeve to return as well as other surviving hosts, such as Dolores.

There are still many burning questions after the finale. Are there other parks? The Samurai warriors suggest that there are other themes and the Westworld cowboy fantasy is just one of them. The creators of the series suggested that Westworld will focus on the current host in Season 1.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jonathan Nolan confirmed that Season 2 will further explain how the robots work and what makes them different from humans.

“Their construction and their power source is something we’re really going to get into during Season 2. So we’d like to keep that mysterious. They’re closer to biological than they are to mechanical, but they don’t suffer brain death the same way we do. They’re largely indistinguishable from a human beings, but their brains don’t require oxygen — which opens up interesting possibilities. Their brains are not as fragile as ours. On one hand, their cognition is controllable and malleable, but on a structural level they can’t be killed in the same way you and I can. There are advantages and disadvantages to being a host. Season 2 we’ll be exploring more the nuts and bolts of what they are — as the hosts themselves are trying to understand.”

Westworld Season 2 will have a release date in 2018 to make more time for writing. While many fans will be eager for the show to return, the creators can spend more time ensuring the second season delivers like the first.

Westworld’s cast, writing, and visuals received praise from critics and fans alike.

What are you looking forward to in Westworld Season 2?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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