A reckoning is coming. (Spoilers for third season incoming.)
Things might get pretty wild, and pretty bloody, in the next season of Westworld. Recently, showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, alongside the cast of the show, had a roundtable (or, well, round-Zoom-chat) discussion about the show’s third season courtesy of the Paley Centre for Media, and while much of the discussion was retrospective, Nolan offered a few key hints about the future of the series.
Nolan’s hints centered on the Man in Black, Ed Harris’s character (his name is William, but that ain’t any fun to say, now is it?), who we now know is being controlled by Tessa Thompson’s character… who herself is being controlled by the mind of Dolores, a character originated by Evan Rachel Wood. It’s complicated. But according to Nolan, this particular bit of manipulation, in addition to being a lot of fun for him as a writer, might end up being pretty spicy.
“I’m a big believer in being guided by irony,” Nolan said, as transcribed by Entertainment Weekly. “[William] winds up becoming this thing [a host] that he’s controlled for so long. And on a visceral level, I just can’t wait to watch Ed kill everyone.”
Menacing! To be fair, we had a presentiment that Dolores/Halores was going to use her power over the Man in Black to do some damage. But to hear that anticipation from the showrunner is something else entirely. And Ed Harris shares it.
“I was happy to get back in my black suit,” Harris added. “I have no idea what they have planned for me. I’m teamed with Tessa, I know. Hopefully, we can do some rightful damage.”
Hopefully so. Westworld will return for a fourth season, probably in 2022 if it doesn’t get derailed.