Westworld Season 4 Is Here, Prepare for More Violent Ends

Westworld Season 4 Is Here, Prepare for More Violent Ends
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Friends, it’s time to bring yourself back online. After what seems like an age, HBO’s blockbuster sci-fi series Westworld is back for season 4.

Taking things out of the park and into the real world in season 3 was a big swing for the series, and it looks like it’s continuing that trend in the upcoming season. Will these violent delights have violent ends? Let’s find out.

Westworld: What’s it all about?

westworld season 4 poster
Image: HBO

For those unfamiliar with Westworld, the series is based on the 1973 film Westworld but updated with an HBO touch.

Set in a futuristic Western theme park, Westworld follows the interactions between the automaton hosts of the park and their human guests. Although, things start to unravel when the robots begin to malfunction and realise what’s happening to them.

What happened in season 3?

Image: HBO

Spoilers for Westworld seasons 1-3 ahead.

Before we dig into season 4, let’s recap what happened last time.

  • Welcome to the real world: Season 3 of Westworld took us out of the park and into the real world for the first time. Having escaped with some of her fellow automaton’s ‘cores’, Dolores went looking for an advanced AI system in a futuristic version of Los Angeles. The system, named Rehoboam, was responsible for an algorithm that could shape the future of humanity by controlling individual human lives.
  • Caleb: Dolores teamed up with a construction worker, Caleb, who had been wronged by Rehoboam and agreed to help her infiltrate its system.
  • Maeve: However, Rehoboam’s founder, Serac, manipulated Dolores’ fellow automaton Maeve into helping him stop her.
  • Violent ends: At the end of the season, after being wired into Rehoboam, Dolores’ memories are seemingly deleted forever by the AI, but one of her last actions is to transfer control of the system over to Caleb.
  • William: Meanwhile, there’s also William, (aka the Man in Black) to think about. William spends a lot of the season grappling with his mental health after accidentally killing his daughter in the previous season. Upon learning that Dolores is using Charlotte Hale’s host body, he is committed to a mental asylum. After spending some time reckoning with himself, William emerges from the institution with a new plan: to kill all the hosts. Unfortunately, Charlotte has a different plan and William is then seemingly killed by a host version of himself.
  • What about Bernard?: Bernard is still around but was sidelined a fair bit last season. After being blamed for the Westworld massacre, Bernard spent most of his time lying low, but teamed up with Stubbs to help stop Dolores’ plans. Little did he know that Dolores hid the ‘key’ to the valley beyond (the afterlife where all the hosts are) in his mind.

Yeah, it’s complicated, but that’s Westworld for you.

What’s happening in season 4?

HBO is keeping plot details about season 4 of Westworld close to the chest, but we can garner a few things from this first trailer.

Coming into season 4, we see the state of a few of our favourite characters. Maeve is on the road (literally), Caleb seems to be back working in construction, and surprise! Dolores is back. Or at least someone who looks like Dolores.

There’s also plenty of creepy action.

We see Caleb crawling away from a drone host and Maeve’s automaton daughter opening her mouth to release a swarm of flies. The Man in Black also appears to be (alive?), or at least his host version is.

Bernard is also hanging in there but can be seen looking very bloody, so it’s unclear for how long. Charlotte (aka Dolores in disguise), meanwhile, is continuing to dominate the corporate world.

Interestingly, a shot at the end of the trailer seems to show New York, so maybe we’ll be going for a cross-country adventure in season 4 of Westworld.

The second trailer drops some more hints about the new season.

It definitely does look like William is still alive after last season, as we see Charlotte (aka Dolores) telling him ominously “your kind made a sport of hunting us… now I’m going to do the same to you.” Yikes.

ATX Festival also revealed some interesting tidbits about the new season. This included the fact that Evan Rachel Wood is playing a different character this season – a writer named Christina.

“She’s a normal woman living in a big city just trying to make it as a writer. Nothing ever happens to her,” Wood said at the panel.

Executive Producer Lisa Joy also revealed that season 4 will take place seven years after season 3.

Who is back online?

Screenshot: HBO

As always with Westworld, no one ever seems to really die, so that means we’re seeing the return of some of our favourite stars this season.

As confirmed by the trailer, Evan Rachel Wood is back as a new character, and Ed Harris returns as William/The Man in Black.

Also reprising their roles are regulars Thandiwe Newton (Maeve), Tessa Thompson (Charlotte), Aaron Paul (Caleb), Jeffrey Wright (Bernard), and Angela Sarafyan (Clementine).

As for newcomers, it’s been confirmed that Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) will be joining the cast in season 4.

It was also confirmed at ATX Festival that James Marsden’s Teddy Flood will be back from the dead (again) this season.

The series is created and produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy for HBO.

When and where can we see Westworld season 4 in Australia?

westworld season 4
Image: HBO/Foxtel

Along with the trailer drop came a release date for season 4 of Westworld. Luckily, after a two-year break, we don’t have to wait much longer.

Westworld season 4 will be fast-tracked to Foxtel Now in Australia and premiere on Monday, June 27, 2022.

There will be eight episodes this season, released weekly, and on-demand from 8:30pm AEST.

If you’re not yet a Foxtel Now customer, you can get a 10-day trial now with no installation and no lock-in contract.

We’ll keep you posted if any more news about Westworld season 4 is revealed. If you’re still catching up you can find all three previous seasons over on Foxtel Now, too.

If you’re looking for other things to watch, check out our 2022 TV release calendar.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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