Black hats and white hats assemble. Its time to return to the Westworld. Westworld Season 4 is coming. And to celebrate our latest trip to the new world, we were given the opportunity to join the hosts and guests of the famed Delos park to discuss whats in store for their characters and what new mysteries will be unlocked for the shows return this coming Sunday, June 26 on HBO and HBO Max.

In attendance for the roundtable discussions were series mainstays Tessa Thompson, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Aaron Paul, Angela Sarafyan, and Luke Hemsworth, alongside co-creator/showrunner Lisa Joy and writer/showrunner Alison Schapker. Together they tackled serious questions regarding how Westworld as a show satirizes data mining issues, human consciousness, and moral ambiguity. Heres what the crew had to say about the upcoming season:

First up, Harris, Thompson, and Sarafyan were asked about whether or not at the end of the day, the hosts should prevail over humanity, or whether its possible for both sets of characters to co-exist with one another.

HARRIS: I dont know but it kind of seems like theyre becoming inseparable on some level. Maybe Im mistaken, but even the hosts being given the opportunity to be free among themselves seem to revert back to more or less the negative side of human behavior.

THOMPSON: Were trying to make this nirvana, this real great place for hosts to take off their host parts and just be bodies and consciousness. And theyre not interested. So I dont know. I dont know what that says about us.

HARRIS: For me it says that A.I. or not, the hosts are programmed by humans. Even if they were programmed by an A.I. that A.I. was programmed by a human, so that aspect of humanity whether negative or positive will come out in them.

SARAFYAN: Right. So the humans flaw would have to exist within the A.I. structure. So both the positive and negative qualities will dictate the future.

HARRIS: The show poses some very difficult questions.

Next, Wright and Hemsworth were asked about the time shift that occurs during the season, and what that implies for their characters.

WRIGHT: Its been a few years, several years. [Bernard] is dustier, dirtier, needs a bit of an oil can, hes been in that one position for a while. And he is, when we find him, hes a bit clearer than hes been in the past. And he continues to be in this pursuit for freedom for himself, his fellow hosts, and for the greater good. Hes still on this mission. But now hes empowered in this way weve never seen him been previously. Hes always been trying to break free of the shackles and dust the metaphorical dirt from his face and hes now a bit freer and a bit stronger. Well see how much trouble he gets into as a result of that?

Hemsworth was asked what Stubbs has been up to in the years Bernard has been sitting in that position getting dustier.

HEMSWORTH: Yeah we were talking about this before. He just walks about the perimeter of the room. Goes out to the door, shuts the door, goes back in. Theres a big pile of crumpled up newspaper over there. Hes been shooting hoops for several years. No, look, Stubbs has used his time very wisely. He hasnt done a lot of cleaning. But hes been evolving as a sentient being, and realizing that perhaps playing Bernards lackey is not all its cracked up to be. And so hopefully we get to see a little bit of Stubbs coming into his own.

WRIGHT: What do you mean? Its cracked up!

HEMSWORTH: Its cracked! No, I love this relationship. Its so fun. Its so easy. And it really mirrors mine and Jeffreys relationship in real life. Were very sardonic, and we like to take the piss out of each other. And I think that relationship bleeds through on the screen. And there are many jokes this season which are just us f**king around.

A bit later in the conversation, Paul, who began his journey at Westworld in Season 3, as human Caleb Nichols was asked what it was like getting to experience the park this season.

PAUL: As a crazy fan of the show, last season I had my own theories after reading scripts episode by episode. I was convinced we were living in the park. I thought were were in Futureworld. So I was very excited to dive into the park and choose a hat per se. It was very exciting. It was truly one of those pinching myself momentsIt was so fun to put on that costume and run around and play in that world. It was truly a dream come true.

Showrunner Joy was then asked about how the themes of consciousness and free will would be explored further this season.

JOY: In terms of free will, I think that our characters still grapple with how free they are. Both the hosts and the humans. For the humans, so much has changed. Theyre no longer at war. Theres ostensibly a time of peace. Yet so much has stayed the same. Caleb is still in a very similar job to the one he had. The world is no longer controlled by the algorithm anymore, but maybe there werent that many deviations in his possible path. So I think hes trying to figure out who am I and how does he fit in the real world. Similarly, the hosts that remain are questioning their own adherence to the more human aspects of themselves. Theres no reason why the hosts should look like a human Theres no reason they have to be bipedal. These are all traits theyve inherited from their flawed forefathers and foremothers. So I think its really a question that all of them are asking who am I and how much of it Ive inherited. How much of it is imposed on me by society, and whats left by which I can exert my control over the world?

Wood was asked about how she went about bringing a herself into the character of Dolores from the perspective of both the character and actress being trauma survivors.

WOOD: Thats always the dance you do with characters. Especially when you relate to the character so much. Sometimes youre at war with yourself separating the two experiences. But its one of the reasons why I love Dolores and the way theyve explored that character is that heroes arent perfect. Things are messy and there isnt a perfect victim or perfect survivor. Its all the lens at which we look at them. And the experiences that weve had that influence our perception. And so in that way, I relate to her. Im in no way shape or form perfect. But I may be optimistic like Dolores, in that evil never dies, but it also never wins. And it can seem hopeless to keep fighting, but you have to fight not to defeat the thing, but to maintain the balance.

And the fight rages on when the new season of Westworld hits HBO this Sunday, June 26!

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