ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: My impression from interviewing Anthony Hopkins was that he was signed for one season.
A lot of our readers think hell be back.
Can you say if hes on board for season 2?
JONATHAN NOLAN: We were very lucky to have one amazing season with Anthony Hopkins.
We loved working with him.
So I would say: Assume nothing.
Is there anyone you’re free to say is definitivelynotcoming back next season?
NOLAN: Again, I think with this show we like surprising people.
And we like playing with them.
Weve established the show can track forward and backward in time.
… As weve established, the hosts cant distinguish their memories and realities.
There is always an opportunity to revisit some of these characters.
Jonathan, you thought we would; Lisa, you said, no, we wont.
Should we just assume the park is on an island at this point, given what youve told us?
NOLAN: The key is to never disagree with Lisa.
Always bet on Lisa being right.
Our worldview is limited to theirs.
They dont know where they are yet.
Speaking of teasing, I love the glimpse at Samurai World.
Or perhaps its Shogun World or Sensei World?
Anything you could tell us about this glimpse into the other park.
We also got the other hint of Park 1 being written the note telling Maeve her daughters location.
JOY: Were definitely teasing there are other worlds.
But it was definitely fun filming those samurai [scenes].
NOLAN: It was awesome.
Something were constantly asked is, Is there a Roman World and Medieval World?
We couldnt say no, because we wanted to go in a slightly different direction.
This samurai-shogun world, for us, has a very specific relation to the Western.
On that meta level, those two genres have this almost incestuous relationship with each other.
We just couldnt resist.
Is it definitively samurai or shogun in terms of what the S is for?
NOLAN: Those are good guesses.
Did Dr. Ford also run this SW world?
NOLAN: One of the things weve established is Westworld is the proto-park.
Its the first park.
The other parks, you would imagine, are extensions.
We would imagine, yes, Ford has had a great deal of sway over everything were seeing.
NOLAN: Look, we love working with Luke and Shannon.
JOY: There were early incarnations where we tied up those arcs [in the finale].
Im not saying how Im just saying we tied them up.
NOLAN: I wouldnt say tied them up.
I would say we unspooled them in an uncertain future.
JOY: Where we elucidated their fate more explicitly.
But their fates we know where theyre going and well get there.
NOLAN: We dearly love both those actors.
We also, you know, it was not our intention to spin out huge mysteries ad infinitum.
We wanted to resolve some pretty important storytelling.
But we didnt want to answer every question.
With certain members of the audience, some are frustrated at times.
Which is hugely gratifying.
Do you have a tease for season 2 youre willing to make at this point?
NOLAN: No [laughs].
JOY: Im trying to think!
There is an awful lot left to explore.
To hear their own voices.
Thats where weve gotten to at the end of this season.
It speaks to a thing of how identity constantly evolves.
They were steeped and raised in violence.
These violent delights did indeed have violent ends at the end of the season.
And I think were going to see how that pendulum swings going forward.
Or will season 2 be every bit as much a puzzle box as season 1?
NOLAN: The puzzle of it all was never the focus for us.
We had a unique opportunity here with a set of protagonist hosts whose situation is unique.
They dont age the way we do.
Theyre not really equipped to understand the distinction between their memories and the present tense.
Its not for everyone, but this is the sort of stuff Lisa and I love.
We want to continue to grow our ambition in terms of how this form of storytelling works.
UPDATE: During the showrunnersFacebook Liveevent talking about the finale, the producers hit a few more questions.
Did Dolores actually become aware or is that part of Fords narrative?
Its a bold new starting point for her character.
More Westworld finale coverage:
Our deep-dive recap of The Bicameral Mindbreaks down everything that happened Sunday night.
