On Friday evening, Westworld very casually dropped a new teaser for the upcoming Season 3 and, in a surprise twist, it did not feature any of the characters or settings viewers are familiar with. Despite series regulars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, and Ed Harris set to return with newcomer Aaron Paul also joining the fray, none of these Westworld all-stars were to be found in the new clip.
Instead, the clip — titled "Incite Anthem", per the YouTube listing — introduced a straight-outta-Silicon Valley company called Incite. The clip is framed as a commercial for the company. Fictional co-founder Liam Dempsey Sr. (played by Inherent Vice actor Jefferson Mays) is seen at Incite HQ, hyping up the benefits of trying out his company's services. What are those services exactly? Well, like most big idea, big shit (but probably bullshit) tech startups, Incite is apparently a one-stop shop for any kind of problem imaginable. Liam promises Incite can help you "find [a] career" but also save the planet from destructive forces like climate change.
Sound too good to be true? Here's Liam's full spiel from the clip, which includes weirdly vague, intriguing, optimistic statements with almost zero evidence that what Incite is selling could work. In other words, a model Silicon Valley company bordering on parody.
"The world is complex, complicated, messy but life doesn't have to be. The future is powered by you and we know you. Incite is different. We're not Silicon Valley vaporware. We have unprecedented computing capabilities, analyzing data for life's most unsolvable problems. We can protect our climate and we can find you a career you can be excited about. The possibilities are limitless. With Incite, the only choice you'll have to make is us."
Up to now, the only company Westworld viewers have ever known about is Delos, the creators of the immersive parks like Westworld and of the AI Hosts like Dolores (Wood), Bernard (Wright), and Maeve (Newton). We've gotten hints and insights about how Delos operates and its early years, which means Westworld hasn't actively shielded viewers from the company's function within the show. Conversely, with Incite, it feels like a much different beast. Liam's monologue is so slick is practically slips out of your hands, leaving you unable to grasp onto anything meaningful that could provide a hint as to how he and Incite will figure into the Season 3 arc. Side note: WTF is "vaporware" and how focused do I need to be on it?
Whatever Westworld has planned for us, the introduction of Incite signals this season is going to be even twistier and more complex than we could fathom.
Westworld Season 3 arrives in 2020. Check out the latest clip below and for more, watch the Season 3 trailer here.