• Release Date: TBA 2019 or 2020
  • Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton
  • Directors: N/A
  • Showrunners: Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan

When Will Westworld Season 3 Premiere?

Westworld season 2 finale - Dolores

Fans rejoiced when WestworldHBO tweeted before the halfway point of season 2 confirming that Westworld season 3 is definitely on the way. However, there's no set date as to when the new season will air. Fans should be ready to wait a little over 2 years, just like the delay between season 1 and 2, but there's a reason behind long wait. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in April, Showrunner Jonathan Nolan talked about why he doesn't want to rush the story:

“It’s an ongoing conversation with our friends at HBO, and for us, with a show of this scope and scale, we’re not interested in doing the compromised version. We want the show to get bigger and bigger and more ambitious and this takes time. We want to take all the time we need to get it right.”

With an ensemble cast and complex story lines, both Nolan and Lisa Joy need time to craft their next mind-bending chapter of the story.

Related: Westworld Timeline Explained: How It All Connects

Who Is Coming Back In Season 3?

Westworld season 2 said goodbye to some of the show's favorite humans and hosts: Teddy Flood (James Marsden), Elsie Hughes (Shannon Woodward), Clementine (Angela Sarafyan), Lee Sizemore (Simon Quaterman), Akecheta (Zahn McClarnon), Hector (Rodrigo Santoro), Angela (Talulah Riley), and Armistice (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal). However, season 2 did explore deeper into the ideas of replicating humans and switching the hosts' digital brains. In Westworld, there's always that question in the back of the fans' minds if any of the deceased characters could appear in an upcoming episode. 

There's no question that Evan Rachel Wood will be bringing back Dolores, since the show largely revolves around her character. Another actor coming back to season 3 is Thandie Newton, despite the fact that Maeve was seemingly killed off in the season 2 finale. This news comes on the heels of when both actors announced that they will receive equal pay as their fellow male actors in season 3.

Although the finale in season 2 showed that Dolores and Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) escaped to the outside world, there's still no confirmation about Tessa Thompson (who played Charlotte Hale, whose body was used to smuggle Dolores' mind out of the park) or Wright coming back for season 3 - but you should probably assume that they will.

Westworld Season 3's Story

Ford and Bernard in Westworld

Season 1 was about the characters figuring out The Maze and the hosts gaining consciousness. In season 2, the conscious hosts had to deal with their new ability to make choices as they raced towards The Door to uncover its mysterious truth. Now that Dolores, Bernard, and a Charlotte Hale host are residing in the real world, they each have to figure out their purpose outside of Westworld. Lisa Joy talked a little bit about exploring Dolores' character arc in season 3 during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

She's come to understand that true freedom isn't something that arises from a lack of dissent, from a dictatorial or totalitarian rule of one set of ideologies. It's something that has to happen with a plurality of ideas, sometimes coming into conflict. Because she's learned her lesson, she's bringing Bernard back into this world to be a check on her own power, in some ways.

Dolores learned that the hosts have the ability to change and adapt during the final episode of season 2. During her time in The Forge, she read several books in the library that contained the digital history of the humans. Armed with this new information in the real world, she can use it to exploit the humans and help save her fellow hosts.

New Cast Members For Westworld Season 3?

Zahn McClarnon as Akecheta in Westworld

There's been no word about any new cast members for season 3 yet, but it wasn't until a few months prior to the release of season 2 that any information came out about the new cast member and who they were playing.  Season 3 should hopefully feature some more memorable new characters like Musashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), Karl Strand (Gustaf Skarsgård), and Akecheta (Zahn McClarnon) who was featured one of the most remarkable episodes of season 2.

Related: Westworld's Season 2 Finale Explained

There Isn't A Trailer For Westworld Season 3 Yet

Since there's no story written yet, there's naturally no trailer. Unfortunately, there's no Westworld panel at this year's San Diego Comic Con 2018 to talk about what's in store for season 3, but the marketing gurus know Westworld fans are salivating for any information about season 3. HBO released some impressive teasers and viral campaigns to keep fans intrigued for season 2, so keep an eye on social media (and on the Delos Destinations website) for clues about season 3.

Westworld Season 3 Does Not Have Any Directors Yet

Westworld season 2 behind the scenes

Westworld season 3 has yet to start production, therefore no directors have signed on. However, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan did bring back several directors from season 1 to work on episodes in the second season: Richard J. Lewis, Vincenzo Natali, Frederick E.O. Toye, and Stephen Williams. Expect to see some or all of these directors return to tell more stories in season 3. Joy and Nolan have also each directed an episode (Joy made her directorial debut in season 2 with "Riddle of the Sphinx"), so it's possible that one of them may helm on of the upcoming episodes.

Writers Haven't Been Confirmed For Westworld Season 3

Westworld - Arnold and Dolores

Like the directors, there's been no information about the writers for each episode. However, Nolan and Joy are in the process of mapping out the story for season 3. They helped craft the all the twists and turns that drove Reddit fans into creating all those fun theories. Keep an eye out for some of the crazy theories about the fate of Dolores and Bernard in the upcoming season.

More: Westworld's Season 2's End-Credits Scene Explained

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter