HBO have released a teaser trailer for their upcoming Science Fiction/thriller TV series Westworld, based on the 1973 film of the same name. The trailer splices a visceral Western backdrop and gun slinging action with mysterious science fiction and androids. It will be produced by J.J. Abrams and Jonathon Nolan (Christopher’s brother) and the series will be written by Nolan and his wife Lisa Joy.
It is based on the cult film Westworld which was written and directed by Michael Crichton, about an adult theme park populated by robots, which allow guests to engage in their wildest fantasies in a particular historical time period. The new television series seems to follow a very similar premise.
The trailer shows a dark, futuristic network of rooms where questions are asked and it is made clear there is something more behind the false reality of ‘Westworld’. We are also shown the historically accurate American west, where the guests “can be whoever they want.” There is a very sinister tone throughout the trailer and even from this couple of minutes it appears the stakes are high.
HBO, which has been home to some of the best and most popular television series of all time, such as The Wire, Game of Thrones and Band of Brothers, has given a release date of October 2016. This is after a long road to the screen, since production began in summer of 2014. If this trailer is anything to go by it may well fill the Game of Thrones sized gap in many people’s lives between its sixth and seventh season.
The fact this is a TV series and not a one off film makes this even more enticing as there could be a lot to get hooked on. The series has an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden and Thandie Newton. It will premiere on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK in October. And much like Game of Thrones it could be the subject of a significant amount of piracy…
Words By: Tim Goodfellow
Photo: HBO