It looks like HBO's mystery-driven drama Westworld is finally starting up for its anticipated fourth season, and we've already got a quick confirmation update. While the Season 3 finale left some questions about some certain characters, one major star is confirming the fate of his twist-heavy character, giving fans something to look forward to in Season 4.
Jeffrey Wright, who has portrayed the host Bernard Lowe in the HBO series, recently posted a picture on Instagram indicating that production is either already started on Season 4, or is starting soon. Check it out!
While the picture is somewhat simple, only including the “Bernard” name plate, Wright’s caption of “Good morning…old friend” is seemingly proof that the entirety of Season 4 won't take place during the time when Bernard zipped away into the Sublime in the Season 3 finale. Not to mention the comment is a direct reference to how Anthony Hopkins' Robert Ford talked to him. Plenty of fans in the comments were more than excited to find out that Jeffrey Wright would be returning, and that Bernard is apparently back online. Hopefully he'll be a little more centered in Season 4, too.
Season 4 of Westworld is a long time coming, seeing as the third season's finale hit HBO a little over a year ago. However, with the way the previous seasons have been laid out, it’s not uncommon for the seasons to premiere upwards of two years apart. And beyond the return of Bernard and other familiar faces, Season 4 will also introduce some new characters. It was recently revealed that Prodigal Son’s Aurora Perrineau will recur in the upcoming season as a key character, and she'll reportedly appear in at least five episodes. That casting likely came as a blow to fans who'd been campaigning for Tom Payne's Prodigal Son to get picked up elsewhere after Fox cancelled it.
When HBO renewed the sci-fi series for a fourth season, not much was known about what it would look like following the real-world exploration in Season 3, especially with COVID-19 having rewired how the industry handled TV and film projects in 2020 and 2021. And while most would assume that Season 4 would be premiering sometime in mid-2022, the late production start could very well mean it'll debut even later. But now that production is getting underway, more information surrounding the release date will likely surface in the coming months.
Even though Jeffrey Wright’s return is confirmed, considering how Season 3 ended, most still don’t know if or how Evan Rachel Wood’s Dolores, Thandie Newton’s Maeve and Aaron Paul’s Caleb will be returning. While Wood has said she does want to return - and it's extremely unlikely she won't, since this is all her story - we still haven't seen any confirmation that she or anyone else is back, beyond Wright. Whatever the case, even if they do return, there’s no telling how long it will take before HBO lets fans know about it.
Just how will Bernard’s story continue following the events of the Season 3 finale? Hopefully we'll get to find out sooner rather than later. While fans wait on Season 4 and more information on Westworld’s upcoming season, the first three seasons are streaming on HBO Max, and there are lots of 2021 Summer TV shows to get obsessed with in the meantime.
