We waited through 2017 and months beyond for Westworld Season 2, and the road to Season 3 may be longer. Creators tease that HBO will take as long as required to perfect the expanding series, which may push Season 3 into the distant future.

HBO has not formally announced a third season of Westworld, though common sense and contract negotiations with star Evan Rachel Wood more or less confirm it. Season 1 was famously beset with production delays, and Season 2 sat out 2017 for creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy to write scripts in advance. As such, the pair were unwilling to project Season 3’s premiere in conversation with Entertainment Weekly, but hinted production will only grow more complicated:

Do you expect to not return with season 3 until 2020?

NOLAN: It’s an ongoing conversation with our friends at HBO, and for us, with a show of this scope and scale, we’re not interested in doing the compromised version. We want the show to get bigger and bigger and more ambitious and this takes time. We want to take all the time we need to get it right.

Also unclear is exactly how many seasons Westworld may run, as Nolan and Joy were said to be planning five or six years in advance. Nolan mostly ducked EW’s attempt to re-litigate the question; instead claiming each season should feel self-contained, as well that “we don’t like to endlessly build mystery.” Just Rickrolls, apparently.

Granted, HBO still has Game of Thrones’ final season as its big 2019 event. You can read our review of Westworld Season 2 and stay tuned for more from Sunday’s premiere.

Gallery: 11 ‘Westworld’ Questions We Need Season 2 to Answer

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