The actor who played Ashley Stubbs in Westworld, Luke Hemsworth, has commented on the show’s cancellation. The 1973 Michael Crichton film of the same name served as the basis for the sci-fi western television series Westworld, which centered on the namesake theme park and its android hosts’ struggle for independence in the outside world. Westworld, created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, was set to end with season 5, and Nolan and Joy were even in talks for a sixth and final season. However, HBO decided to terminate the show owing to poor ratings and reviews, leaving many devoted viewers extremely upset.
Hemsworth expressed his disappointment with the cancellation of Westworld in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. Hemsworth acknowledges his gratitude for being part of Westworld but claims that learning of its cancellation on his 42nd birthday caused him the most pain. The complete statement from Hemsworth is below.
“You hope these things go forever, but everyone’s got their own reasons. I’m very thankful for my part in that series and that journey was a big part of my life, but yeah it was disappointing… I think the idea right from the start was to go full circle and come back to be about loops, to be about human beings and robots being stuck in that trajectory. Unfortunately, we get cut off, but it’s the nature of the world. You can’t get depressed about it. You move on, and it opens up new doors.”
Why Reactions to Westworld’s Cancellation Are Mixed
Hemsworth claims that, like the Westworld showrunners, he anticipated that season 5 would bring the full series circle and that it would have been appropriate given the tone of the program. Even yet, the primary Westworld cast (Thandiwe Newton, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris, and Aaron Paul) will still be compensated for season 5, as a provision in their contracts specified they would be paid in full in the case the final season was not approved. Although not verified, it is anticipated that these cast members would receive between $10 and $15 million in wages. Hemsworth was not identified as a member of this gang.
After Westworld was canceled, there was an immediate outcry from the audience, which prompted supporters to establish a petition to keep season 5 alive. Nearly 11k people have signed the change.org petition as of this writing, and many of them claim to be still waiting for “one last lap around the curve.” While many contend that Westworld needs one more season to properly wrap up the series, others believe the show should have finished a long time ago. Some viewers believe that Westworld’s story could have been wrapped up neatly after seasons 1 or 2 and that later seasons distorted the show’s real messages to increase their financial gain.
Although there hasn’t been a single definitive explanation for Westworld’s premature cancellation, many believe it was due to the steep fall in season 4’s ratings. That doesn’t mean the show wasn’t adored by devoted viewers, though, or that the story is done; in the past, fans have brought back canceled shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Lucifer. Longtime Westworld fans should rest easy knowing that the cast is equally as sad at the show’s cancellation as they are, even though HBO hasn’t remarked on this possibility.