We finally have more Westworld news to share! No, they haven’t started filming, but we may be getting closer as four of the main cast members – Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, and Thandie Newton – have secured considerable salary increases ahead of season three. This also confirms we will be seeing their characters again, so expect Bernard, Dolores, William/Man in Black, and Maeve to return to our screens next season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “the foursome are each making roughly $250,000 an episode for the upcoming third season. The newly negotiated pacts represent generous bumps to their previous salaries, which were rumored to be varied amounts in the $100,000 to $150,000 range. A second tier of actors are likely to renegotiate as well.”
While we don’t know who those actors are, sources suggest there may be an “unclear future” for James Marsden (Teddy Flood) and Tessa Thompson (Charlotte Hale) who were not part of the first tier negotiations. A representative of the network issued a statement, saying, “HBO does not and would never comment on talent negotiations” – so we likely won’t get any further information on their fates until filming begins.
Read the rest at THR.
Vanessa Cole
I think Marsden *was* in the first tier of actors on the show, but I also think Teddy’s story is pretty much done as of the end of S2. He will be missed.
Thompson’s career has taken off to such an extent since she made S1 of Westworld that she’s probably got plenty of irons in the fire already without committing to S3. We might see her guest star in a couple of episodes, but I don’t think she’ll be a regular.
I think the really interesting takeaway from this is that it confirms Maeve will be back, despite Thandie Newton’s reported uncertainty the other day. And I think that probably means we will get to see more of the aftermath in the park rather than the S3 story revolving entirely around Dolores’s and Bernard’s mainland adventures. Which I am glad about – I wouldn’t want to lose the Western aspect entirely because I think it helps make the show the unique, crazy thing that it is. 🙂
ManWithNoNameQuote Reply
ManWithNoName,
I completely agree about the Western aspect. I thought they may keep Charlotte around as a way to infiltrate Delos, but who knows?
VanessaQuote Reply
Vanessa,
It’s worth bearing in mind that just about all of my attempted predictions re S2 were hilariously off the mark. 😉
ManWithNoNameQuote Reply