It's fair to say we were all shocked when news broke last year that HBO had decided to cancel Westworld after its fourth season. The show initially received widespread critical acclaim when it launched in 2016, though viewership steadily declined after the action moved from the theme park and the show bid farewell to the legendary Anthony Hopkins.
James Marsden was there from the start, and after taking a break from the series during its third season, he returned for the fourth (and final) batch of episodes. Talking to Rolling Stone (via SFFGazette.com), the Sonic the Hedgehog and X-Men star shared his thoughts on Westworld wrapping up before receiving a proper send-off.
"I’d be lying to you if I told you that the way we ended Westworld wasn’t a disappointment," Marsden said. "I’m never going to speak without gratitude about any of my experiences, but it would have been nice to be able to complete the story we wanted to finish."
"I love this Westworld family. It was one of those unique opportunities to be part of something where I also would be sitting at home ravenously waiting for the next episode as a fan."
The actor would later acknowledge that appreciates decisions like this often come down to money, adding: "I totally understand it’s an expensive show, and big shows have to have big audiences to merit the expense. I just wish it was about more than financial success."
"But who knows - maybe there’s some world where it can get completed somehow. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking because I know we had plans to finish it the way we wanted to."
As disappointed as everyone involved with Westworld appears to be over the cancellation, a quick look at ratings for season 4 makes it clear the show was running on fumes by the end. It's incredibly frustrating for fans and the creative team to not get a satisfying conclusion to a story they put so much into, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.
Had Warner Bros. Discovery not decided to scale back plans for HBO Max, Westworld may well have lived on in some form, but we don't anticipate ever getting to learn how this story ended, unfortunately.
Were you disappointed when Westworld reached its abrupt end?