Westworld Season 3 Trailer Introduces Aaron Paul And A New Future

What's west of Westeros? Westworld. 

Following the series finale of Game of Thrones on Sunday, May 19, HBO unveiled the first trailer for the long-awaited third season of Westworld, the network's other flagship show that has captivated millions worldwide. 

The first-look glimpse into the forthcoming chapter of the sci-fi Western series teases new places to go, new faces to meet, and a new future to behold. It opens with a voice viewers haven't yet heard on Westworld before: that of Aaron Paul's character, a man who is deeply disillusioned by the picture of a bright tomorrow people had promised in the past. 

"They said they would make a better world — smooth away the rough edges. But that was a lie. I guess the rough edges are the only thing I'm hanging onto," he says in voiceover as he walks across a bridge, sits on a rafter next to a robot, peers into people's apartments, kisses an ailing woman in her hospital bed, scrolls through a device detailing crimes people have committed, and covers his ears as something blows up behind him. 

The rest of the trailer hints that the world viewers are peeking into now might not be the same one that they were immersed in during seasons 1 and 2 of Westworld. It's grittier, dirtier, and filled with individuals longing to make real connections — like Paul's character. He thinks he may have found exactly what he's been looking for, something new to hang on to, when he sees a woman stumbling through the underpass of a bridge. As he asks if she needs help, the woman steps into the light and shows her face: she's Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), the robot who started an uprising at the Westworld park when she discovered her own consciousness. 

From strange-looking ships that touch down on the edge of a body of water and cars that glide across bridges, to a woman who guns down people in darkened streets and another who drags a body across a patch of grass, to futuristic prisons and drug-filled raves, this is all far different than what Westworld fans are used to seeing. The season 3 trailer doesn't reveal a lot in terms of plot, but it does a fine job of establishing a fresh tone for the new episodes. After harsh reviews for season 2 — not to mention the two-year-long wait between that season and the upcoming one — season 3 would do well to subvert the standard and deliver something unexpected.

HBO hasn't yet announced a set release date for Westworld season 3, though the network did confirm it's arriving sometime in 2020.