Westworld co-creator reveals plans for a potential season 5

Evan Rachel Wood as Christina in Westworld season 4
(Image credit: HBO)

Westworld showrunner and co-creator Lisa Joy has plans for season 5 – should HBO decide to renew the popular dystopian sci-fi series. Warning: Westworld season 4 spoilers ahead!

At the end of season 4, both humans and hosts are being wiped out – and Dolores realizes that the two cannot exist in the real world. While the series could certainly end on this powerful note, Joy reveals that the season 4 finale was not intended to be the series' end.

"From the very beginning, in season one, we talked about characters being on loops, and how do you break these loops? The cycles of violence, the cycles of destruction, the cycles of rebuilding. So you’re hoping that with each epicycle, progress is made – that you’re moving toward somewhere good," she explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "Hale has control this season. What role does she make? Ford had control – humans had control – in the first season. What does that look like?

"Now we’re moving toward, gods willing, a season in which Dolores has control and the cycle will repeat one last time. How will that be different? What new things can be learned? And, is it possible to even break out of that cycle?"

Joy went on to tell IGN that, she should they "get to a fifth season," she and co-showrunner Jonathan Nolan hope to explore the failure of both the human experiment and host experiment.

Westworld's season 4 finale is now streaming on HBO Max. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2022 and beyond.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.