“Westworld” star James Marsden is sounding off about the disappointment he felt after the show was canceled after its fourth season despite the HBO series’ plans for a fifth.
“I’d be lying to you if I told you that the way we ended ‘Westworld’ wasn’t a disappointment,” Marsden told Rolling Stone in an interview released Tuesday. “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.”
On top of the initial letdown of the cancelation, HBO Max also pulled “Westworld” from its slate in December in a cost-cutting move from Warner Bros. Discovery’s as a result of a review of its content slate.
Marsden, who starred in the first two seasons of the sci-fi series before returning for the fourth, expressed his admiration for his “Westworld” family before sharing that being a part of the cast was “one of those unique opportunities to be part of something where [he] also would be sitting at home ravenously waiting for the next episode as a fan.”
Marsden also lamented the burden of focusing on finances to keep the show alive, saying “I just wish it was about more than financial success.”
“I totally understand it’s an expensive show and big shows have to have big audiences to merit the expense,” he continued.
Despite the current situation, Marsden showed a glimmer of hope that the show could be completed as planned. “Maybe that’s just wishful thinking, because I know we had plans to finish it the way we wanted to,” he concluded.
