'Westworld' Season 2 Release Date, Plot Rumors: Is Anthony Hopkins Onboard for Season 2?

By Emmanuelle Espiritu, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, February 23, 2017

"Westworld" is not due back on air until 2018, but the show has remained a hot topic of discussion among fans. The mind-boggling season 1 finale may have unraveled mysteries and answered questions viewers didn't even know they had, but it also left people with enough complex points to ponder on.

One such point is the fate of Westworld's creative director, Dr. Robert Ford, played by multi-awarded actor, Anthony Hopkins. Ford was shot in the head by the oldest park host, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), near the end of season 1. It appeared that he himself orchestrated his own death for reasons that will hopefully be made clear when the show returns for its sophomore run.

However, fans are speculating that Ford may have been replaced by a host version of himself in that particular scene, and that the real one and the repaired host will both be appearing in the show's season 2. But has Hopkins signed on for the second installment? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series co-creator, Jonathan Nolan, advised fans to "Assume nothing."

Nolan went on to explain that anything is possible in a show like "Westworld," wherein time can freely alternate between past and present, owing to the hosts inability to distinguish their memories from their current realities.

"There is always an opportunity to revisit some of these characters," Nolan said.

And while he confirmed in an interview with Variety that Ford was indeed dead, Deadline also quoted him as saying, "Well, that version of Ford is dead."

So, which version was it exactly? Nolan and his series co-creator and wife Lisa Joy refused to divulge anything more since they prefer to surprise people with the various twists and turns they have laid out for season 2.

Fans will surely have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming installment that Nolan, in a Facebook Live event, has described as "total f***king mayhem."