James Marsden has spoken out about the shock cancellation of Westworld ahead of its planned final season.
HBO announced in November that the experimental science-fiction series, starring Marsden, Thandiwe Newton, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright, would not be returning for a fifth season.
Although its ratings had declined since its first run in 2016, Westworld retained a solid fanbase, many of whom expressed their upset with the show’s ending on social media.
In an interview published on Tuesday (3 January), Marsden, who played gunfighter Teddy Flood on the show, gave his view on the cancellation.
“I’d be lying to you if I told you that the way we ended Westworld wasn’t a disappointment,” Marsden told Rolling Stone.
“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.”
The Dead to Me actor went on to explain that he knows such decisions often come down to finances above all else. Season four of the programme was reported to have had a production budget of more than $160m (£132m).
“I totally understand it’s an expensive show, and big shows have to have big audiences to merit the expense,” he added. “I just wish it was about more than financial success.
“But 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 was removed from HBO Max, the network’s streaming platform, in December 2022.
