Why did we have to wait so long for Westworld? Executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming HBO series.
Based on the 1973 film of the same name, Westworld is set at a Wild West theme park where androids attack visitors. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Jimmi Simpson, Shannon Woodward, and Miranda Otto.
Initially, HBO ordered the series for a 2015 debut. Since then, the drama has been delayed due to casting changes, production pauses, and story redevelopment. Joy told EW that production has taken so long because “the show is complicated and ambitious.”
The show is complicated and ambitious. For the first half of the series we were writing while in production and we needed the time to catch up on scripts. Taking that time allowed us to really finesse all the storylines we set up – deepening character arcs and delving further into the series’ larger mythological questions. By finishing all the episodes before returning to shooting, we were able to concentrate on production in the latter half of the show – making sure the last few episodes were as ambitious on the screen as they were on the page.”
Nolan added the series will “turn the original movie inside-out”:
That’s the reason we wanted to do the show, and what the early conversations with [fellow executive producer J.J. Abrams] centered on – that the show should turn the original movie inside-out, with the “hosts” as the protagonists When it comes to the question of consciousness, we always start with ourselves as the answer. As the be-all-end-all. It’s understandable – we’re the only consciousness we’re familiar with. But we wanted to challenge that assumption. The “hosts” are discovering that they’ve been created in our image, but beginning to question if “humanness” is really what they want to aspire to. And given their circumstances, it’s easy to understand why they start to question whether they want to be like us at all…”
Season one of Westworld is slated to premiere this October on HBO.
What do you think? Have you seen the movie Westworld? Will you watch the HBO series?
