HBO Max cancelled a slew of series late last year, but none were more high profile than its sci-fi series “Westworld” which was briefly the network’s big-budget flagship show back in its first season.
Ratings and interest in the series slid after that first run, and the network opted to cancel the series in November after four of five planned seasons due to low ratings and cost-cutting measures in the wake of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Those involved have already moved on, with creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan now focusing their efforts on Amazon Prime’s “Fallout” TV series adaptation due next year. One person though who was saddened by the loss was series regular James Marsden.
Speaking with Rolling Stone recently, the “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “X-Men” alum says that he would still love to find a way to finish the show’s story:
“I’d be lying to you if I told you that the way we ended ‘Westworld’ wasn’t a disappointment. 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. 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.
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.”
“Westworld” is expected to pop up again on streaming sometime in the near future, but the question is whether Warner Bros. Discovery is set to license the show to a still unknown third-party free ad-supported television (FAST) channel.
