A major contender on HBO’s forthcoming TV slate is the sci-fi series Westworld. A revamped small screen adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1973 movie of the same name, it’s packing in the pedigree both in front and behind the camera. So, why then has the network kept the show on such a short marketing leash? It’s likely due to the release date being pushed back from end of 2015 to the noncommittal “sometime in 2016.”
Nevertheless, yesterday saw the first new glimpse at the movie since December – when HBO included a brief shot at the show in its “year ender” promo – as a 30-second teaser clip aired during the True Detective finale. As opposed to a full-length trailer fleshing out the narrative beats, this is a tantalizing tonal appetizer of what’s to come.
It opens as Evan Rachel Wood’s character Dolores undergoes an interrogation, followed by momentary flashes of seemingly unconnected people. The clip comes to a close when the voice of her interrogator asks if she’s ever questioned the nature of her reality. Which, she probably should, because she’s an android.
Again, the network’s been equally tight-lipped about the synopsis, but from what we can gauge, the story follows the same path as Crichton’s movie. In the near future, a high-tech theme park is populated by androids, who provide all sorts of entertainment for visitors in various guises. Medieval World, Roman World and West World are the three areas to the park, and naturally, as this is based on a Crichton title, the attractions try to kill the guests.
Jonathan Nolan is at the helm, and has promised an “ambitious, fucked-up and subversive” show. Now if only HBO would confirm a release date.
Co-starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Miranda Otto, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Angela Sarafyan and Simon Quarterman, Westworld is targeting a premiere date sometime in 2016.
