James Marsden reveals his disappointment at Westworld’s shock cancellation: ‘I just wish it was about more than just financial success’
James Marsden expressed his disappointment at Westworld’s cancellation in an interview with Rolling Stone published Tuesday.
The 49-year-old actor played Cowboy Teddy on the show, which HBO canceled in November before creators could wrap up the show with a fifth season.
Not only was the series canceled, but Warner Bros. Discovery announced last month that it would be removing the show from its HBO Max streaming service.
Frustrated: James Marsden said he was upset by Westworld’s cancellation in an interview with Rolling Stone published on Tuesday (pictured on the show with Evan Rachel Wood).
“I would be lying to you if I told you that the way we ended Westworld wasn’t a disappointment,” Marsden said in the interview.
“I will never speak about my experience without gratitude, but it would have been nice to finish the story we wanted to finish.”
He added that he loves his “Westworld family,” before adding that he would go home and watch the show as a fan too.
“I totally understand that it’s an expensive show and big shows need to have big audiences to justify the expense. I just wish it was about more than just financial success,” he said.
Cancelled: The 49-year-old actor opened up about the show, which HBO canceled back in November before creators could wrap up the show with a fifth season (pictured November 2022)
“Disappointment: “I’d be lying to you if I told you the way we ended Westworld wasn’t a disappointment,” Marsden said in the interview (pictured on the show with Evan Rachel Wood).
The Enchanted actor said he harbors hope that one day the show may be finished.
“Maybe that’s just wishful thinking because I know we had plans to end it the way we wanted,” he added.
Westworld was reportedly canceled due to the show’s high production costs.
It was reported that the first season had a whopping budget of $88 million, with the figure growing to $107 million in the second season.
One day: The enchanted actor said he hopes the show could be finished one day (pictured June 2022)
Critically acclaimed: Westworld has received an impressive nine Primetime Emmy Awards and a total of 54 nominations throughout its run
The cancellation came during an “ongoing evaluation of programming” with HBO parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
Westworld had garnered an impressive nine Primetime Emmy Awards throughout its run, along with a total of 54 nominations.
It was launched as a prestige drama by HBO in 2016 with high hopes for it to be another long-running show amid the success of Game of Thrones, and featured a stellar cast that included Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins.
Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright and Thandiwe Newton were also part of the original cast.
Big cast: It was launched by HBO as a prestige drama back in 2016 with high hopes for another long-running show (left to right: Luke Hemsworth, Jeffrey Wright, Aaron Paul, Angela Sarafyan, Tessa Thompson, Wood and Marsden June 2022)