Just as Westworld got Season 2 hype rolling early with a first trailer, so too is HBO proving surprisingly forthright with its breakout hit. We’ve long known Season 2 would premiere at some point in 2018, while a new HBO announcement seemingly narrows to a spring return.

Granted, HBO didn’t utter a peep about Westworld’s Season 2 premiere from its otherwise-expansive TCA press tour panel, but a new post from the Medium PR page seems to confirm that new episodes are “debuting in spring 2018.” Production has only just begun, but creators Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy made sure to have all scripts in advance this time, lest Season 2 suffer the delays that made people nervous about Season 1.

It also makes sense that HBO would want to angle Westworld Season 2 in the first half of 2018, given we may not have any Game of Thrones for the rest of the year. Season 7 moved the aging flagship from a spring perch into summer, and with the final season potentially pushed to 2019, HBO needs one of its strongest dramas out front and center.

Elsewhere of Westworld Season 2, producers have kept the lion’s share of details under wraps, though the 2018 “Journey Into Night” is expected to answer practical questions about the park, potentially even a date for the show’s setting. Ed Harris will be back to play Season 2 on extreme mode (no guarantee for William), while Talulah Riley and Louis Herthum have also been upped to series regular. We’ll also finally get answers on the mysterious “SW” park, and hopefully learn what became of poor Elsie and Stubbs (the latter of whom might be visible in the first trailer).

New additions include Leftovers alum Katja Herbers and Fargo big bad Zahn McClarnon, along with Neil Jackson and American Gods star Jonathan Tucker. Tucker will play Major Craddock, a military officer whose presence suggests the robot uprising will meet significant resistance.

We’ll see what other Westworld Season 2 details come online in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

More From ScreenCrush