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Without a doubt, Anthony Hopkins's Robert Ford was one of the best things about the first season of Westworld, so it's unsurprising that there's a popular fan theory doing the rounds that he'll be back for season 2. How, you ask?
Well, the theory goes - and major spoilers for season 1 here - that Dolores actually shot and killed a Host version of Ford in the final episode and that the real Ford remains alive and well, hiding away somewhere safe, watching gleefully as the robot revolution takes over Westworld.
Given that the show is actually a lot cleverer than this, it's more than likely that the theory is born from a desire to see more of Hopkins rather than any real truth, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to ask the cast about it when I met up with them recently to talk about season 2. After all, one of them might slip up and we can celebrate the fact that we'll get to see the ice cold Ford back on our screens next month. Then again...
Evan Rachel Wood
I think that would be too easy. A lot of people have come up to me and they go 'Ok, I’ve got a theory… Ford was a clone!' And I’m like, well, if the statistics tell you anything, if everyone thinks that, then you’re probably wrong because that means that’s what they want you to think, so I would think that would be too easy. But I do know that Ford’s dead, so…
Jeffrey Wright
I love reading the fan theories, because in some ways it really is kind of like this whole other dimension of the storytelling, you know? So we’ve got our ideas and what we’re doing and then there’s these kind of tangential storylines, some of which overlap, some don’t and it’s great. I love that people immerse themselves in it so deeply.
But yeah – it probably would have been better if Ford had had a robot brain instead of a human one!
Simon Quarterman
Well, Ford’s dead so I don’t really know where they’re going with that one…
Shannon Woodard
Doctor Ford got shot in the head, so he’s head! He is dead! Doctor Ford is dead! Doctor Ford the human being is dead! Shot in the head.
Rodrigo Santoro
Doctor Ford is dead. The show does play in different timelines though, so you never know…
Here’s the thing about this show; don’t assume you know something, because... even for us reading this season it was always reconsidering and thinking 'Oh, wait a second!' and you’re constantly trying to put things together. But don’t try too hard, just go with it and enjoy the ride because that’s the fun of it as well.
So, there you have it. Ford is dead. But did you notice how none of them said he wasn't coming back from season 2? Human Ford might have died at the end of season 1, but maybe he made a Host version of himself to oversee the robot revolution and make sure everything went as planned! You know... just in case.
Westworld season 2 premieres on April 22 on HBO in the US and a day later on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK, and you can read about the 13 things we found out about the second season when we interviewed the cast here.
