James Marsden Thinks Westworld Should Have Been Saved Even Though It Made No Money

Westworld star James Marsden thinks the series should have been allowed to run for one more season to wrap up the planned story.

By Mark McKee | Published

Westworld was a dystopian science fiction series set in a western town that is eventually revealed to be an adult theme park used for others to experience the ways of the Old West. When the series was canceled after the fourth season, fans were ripped to shreds with the knowledge that their beloved series would not be getting the previously announced fifth and final season. According to Deadline, the fans aren’t alone in their disappointment as series star James Marsden expressed his disappointment, saying he wished it was about more than money. 

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the X-Men star spoke up about how he loved the Westworld family, it provided him with unique opportunities, and he also used to sit and wait impatiently for the next episode with the fans. He isn’t a stranger to the business, so he knows and understands the reasoning behind the decision; with the high cost of the show and the falling ratings, it just made sense. But James Marsden still wishes they would have gotten the opportunity to finish the storyline they set out to tell, and says that he wishes the decision could have been about more than money, hoping there is a chance they can finish it. 

James Marsden has a little help with saving the series for a fifth season, as the fans have begun a petition to coerce the studio to reverse the course on their decision to cancel the series. Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t begin or end with Westworld while canceling popular series, axing properties left and right during their merger. But finishing a series and allowing the seasons to tell a whole story makes it more attractive to potential buyers to purchase the rights for streaming, since fans are more likely to invest the time in viewing a finished story, compared to one that ends openly. 

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Anthony Hopkins and Jeffrey Wright in Westworld

The stellar cast includes Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs and Thor), Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen and Down in the Valley), Thandie Newton (The Chronicles of Riddick and Solo: A Star Wars Story), Tessa Thompson (Creed and Thor: Ragnorak), Jeffrey Wright (The Batman and No Time to Die), and Ed Harris (The Firm and A Beautiful Mind). While none of them will struggle to find work after the cancelation of Westworld, they, along with fans and James Marsden, now have unfinished business with the fabricated Old West world. 

Of course, even though the series has been canceled, it seems like nothing is truly dead these days, as virtually every television show, film franchise, and long-lost property is getting a revival or reboot. Once all is said and done, and the dust settles with the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, and when they figure out what they are doing with HBO Max, maybe we can expect a fifth and final season. With the comments made by James Marsden and the fans building a petition, nothing in the world seems out of reach.