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Get To Know Westworld Season 2 Newcomer Rinko Kikuchi

By David Rodemerk

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Get ready for Rinko Kikuchi to appear in Westworld Season 2. It looks like she’ll play a part in the mysterious ShogunWorld.

Showrunner Jonathan Nolan gave his brother Christopher a slight nod by by putting a trailer inside the latest trailer. The Inception-ish trick was discovered by the Westworld fanatics over on Reddit. In the hidden trailer, there was a scene introducing a new cast member: Rinko Kikuchi dressed as a geisha. Welcome to Westworld Season 2, Rinko! She even posted her excitement on her Instagram profile:

This is not the first time the marketing team for Westworld had fun getting fans to look for hidden messages in their trailers. During the Superbowl, the trailer had a code that led to a bloodier version of the trailer. And that one introduced another character: Peter Delos (Peter Mullan). What better way is there to introduce new characters to Westworld? If you don’t know much about Rinko Kikuchi, then here’s your chance to learn all about her.

Where Have You Seen Westworld Season 2 Newcomer Rinko Kikuchi Before?

Rinko Kikuchi
Rinko Kikuchi /

Rinko Kikuchi was born in Hadano, Japan as Yuriko Kikuchi. She made her debut in Will to Live

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(1999) by Kaneto Shindo. And her first full full English-language movie was Rian Jordan’s The Brothers Bloom (2009).

Rinko Kikuchi’s break out role was in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s twisting narrative Babel in 2006, which starred not only Clifton Collins, Jr. but also Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Because of this film, Kikuchi was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years. But most science-fiction fans will know her from Guillermo del Toro’s robot flick Pacific Rim, and she appears in the recent sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising. 

For her role in the drama film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), Kikuchi received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She is no stranger when it comes to working with robots and other strange characters.

What Will Rinko Kikuchi’s Role Be In Westworld Season 2?

We don’t know too much about the background of Rinko Kikuchi’s character. Although, according to EW, her character’s name is Akane and she’s part of ShogunWorld. Kikuchi will play alongside fellow ShowgunWorld inhabitant, Musashi (Hiroyuki Sanada). Our minds went wild after seeing glimpses of ShogunWorld during the season finale of Westworld Season 1. We are definitely excited to have Rinko Kikuchi on board this season. Even fellow cast member Clifton Collins, Jr. (Lawrence) shared his excitement on his Instagram account:

His words perfectly describe our elation when it comes to having Kikuchi as part of Westworld Season 2:

"So excited for my Asian Persuasion sister @rinkokikuchi , we first got down in Alejandro González Iñárritu #Babel , then @realgdt original @pacificrim_movie , now she’s joined our @westworld_hbo Fam! She is such a badass & a talented gift , y’all gonna dig her jam"

As the Westworld family gets bigger and better, our excitement continues to grow for the arrival of the premiere of Season 2.

Next: Will Teddy become evil in Westworld Season 2?

Hopefully, we will learn more about Westworld Season 2 and more information about Kikuchi’s role moving forward. We still have a few months until Westworld Season 2 drops. Until then, we will continue to speculate on anything and everything Westworld.

Westworld Season 2 will premiere on HBO Sunday, April 22, 2018 9PM/EST

Make sure you follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for everything you need to know regarding Westworld Season 2.

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