Westworld was controversially canceled this year by HBO, which has led dedicated fans to create a website in the hopes of reviving the show for season 5. Creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy had always envisioned Westworld as ending with season 5 which would have concluded its philosophically rich story, wrapping up its loose ends and the many questions asked by previous seasons. Following season 4’s daring cliffhanger, many fans are still eager to find out precisely what happens given how close the story was to its conclusion.
Could Westworld Season 5 Still Happen?
Westworld’s season 4 finale concluded by killing off the human race and returning the show to its roots in the original theme park, but this time as part of the Sublime. Returning the show to its origins would bring it much closer in tone to season 1, which was one of HBO’s most popular debuts for an original series at the time of airing. This move could have restored much of its lost viewership, which may well have stemmed from the fact that with each passing season, the show strayed further and further from the theme park that started it all. It could also be pivotal should HBO decide to reverse its decision.
Westworld wasn’t the only HBO sci-fi drama to be axed this year, with the Ridley Scott-produced Raised by Wolves also ending prematurely after only two seasons. Warner Bros. Discovery has canceled a range of other projects this year, including the intended DC Universe film Batgirl, so Westworld is far from alone. However, it initially brought HBO a lot of success, so it’s possible that a middle-ground could be brokered as a gesture of good faith to its cast and crew. This could be in the form of an abridged final season or even a TV movie.
Canceled shows have been saved by fans in the past, notably with Lucifer, but HBO, renowned for its prestige shows, has rarely been known to reverse a cancelation. Westworld could prove to be the exception to this rule, with the revival petition having gained over 12,000 signatures as of December 30, but executives would need to be able to justify the high budget that the show incurs, and the nosedive in ratings suggests that its days of mainstream popularity are over. In addition to this, the show’s creators are now executive producers on the Prime Video show The Peripheral, which shares striking similarities to Westworld, meaning they may have already cut their losses. Perhaps the most likely means of salvation for a Westworld season 5 would be another network or streamer picking up the show.
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