James Marsden teases his grand Westworld season 4 return and 'what happens next'

James Marsden has become quite good at the intricate dance of the spoilers.

The actor made a surprise appearance during a Westworld panel at the ATX TV Festival in Austin at the top of June to reveal he will return to the drama in season 4 after his character was killed off in season 2. But this week, during an EW interview with the show's cast, Marsden said he prefers to "remain a little mysterious about where you find me in the first episode, if at all."

Even though he was physically there to talk about season 4 with Evan Rachel Wood, Tessa Thompson, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, and Angela Sarafyan — signaling he's part of the series again — Marsden joked that there's nothing to it. "I just miss you guys. I miss talking about the show together."

We do know some things, however. Wood is playing a new character with echoes of Dolores. Her new name is Christina, and she lives in a futuristic city that looks like New York with a roommate, played by recent Oscar winner Ariana DeBose. She'll also be going on dates, including one with a man who looks an awful lot like… Marsden's Teddy.

Teddy offed himself back in season 2. Amid the robot uprising, Dolores (Wood) forced programming into her gentleman lover to make him a stone-cold killer, but his robo-brain couldn't handle it. Dolores died at the end of season 3, and now both lovers — regardless of the form they seem to take now — are getting back together.

Marsden said the core of what's being explored on Westworld remains the same, even in its new setting. "The themes of exploring human urges of violence and things like that are going to continue," he explains. "And this season maybe we explore what the world looks like after Dolores set the humans and the robots free. Are they going to cooperate or are they going to vie for control? What happens when they vie for control? Will the hosts inherit these urges of violence? Some of the basic things that we continue to explore on this show, and definitely in season 4 — we ask a lot of those questions. What happens next?"

Westworld season 4 premieres this Sunday, June 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Check back later this week for the full cast conversation.

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