It’s approaching one year since HBO’s thrilling and cerebral sci-fi western Westworld hit television and proved itself to be one of 2016’s strongest series. Since then, HBO has been keeping details concerning Season 2 on lockdown, and the show faded into the background as other popular series such as Fargo, Game of Thrones, and The Leftovers all made strong returns with new seasons.
But when Westworld’s blood-soaked Season 2 trailer rolled out at this year’s Comic-Con, the hype and excitement around the show was quickly reignited. Now, fans have more to be excited about, according to Den of Geek: actor Jimmi Simpson, who plays William on the show, has confirmed he will return in Westworld Season 2.
The actor revealed news of his return by responding to a fan on Twitter who asked if Simpson will be in the show’s second season. Simpson also confirmed in another tweet early this week that he has started shooting his Season 2 scenes, tagging his co-star Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores Abernathy) in the post.
Simpson’s wholesome white-hatted character William was revealed to be the notorious Man in Black during Season 1’s finale, which shocked many fans. In an interview with Vanity Fair back in December, Jimmi Simpson seemingly squashed all rumors of his return for Westworld’s second season, offering a firm “no” when asked if he was coming back to the show in any capacity.
While the new footage in the Comic-Con trailer saw the return of Ed Harris’ Man in Black, there was no sign of the younger William. It’s unclear how William will fit into the storyline for Season 2, especially since the Comic-Con trailer gives the impression that the next season will primarily be concerned with the events following Dolores’ unleashing of chaos during the Season 1 finale. But if there’s one thing that Season 1 of Westworld proved, it’s that the show knows how to shock and surprise its fans, so there’s no telling what’s in store for William come Season 2.
HBO recently announced that Westworld Season 2 will air some time in the spring of 2018. All episodes of Season 1 can be viewed through HBO’s streaming services.