After a troubled production, HBO‘s ‘Westworld‘ reboot is readying for broadcast in October. Does its new trailer promise it will deliver a darkened and more nuanced action thriller?
The original Westworld film was an iconic success when it was released in 1973. It told the tale of a futuristic adult theme-park populated by life-like robots programmed ready to fulfill the fantasies of high-paying guests. However a major malfunction makes the various sections of the park far more dangerous than intended. It was written and directed by Michael Crichton (who would later pen another such scenario with dinosaurs entitled Jurassic Park!) and memorably starred Yul Bryner as a relentless ‘gunslinger’ whose malfunction sets him on a murderous campaign against two of the visiting park guests. I the fashion looks a little dated, the film still stands up to repeat viewing today
But later this year a new version of the concept will be coming to screens in the form of an HBO mini-series. In much the same way that the Battlestar Galactica reboot took a basic OTT idea and explored much darker themes within it, the new version will look closely at the ideas of morality, mortality and what is ‘real’. Giving the artificial creations far more nuance it will investigate not just a technological threat that could undermine the safety of the park but the very real theological problems about people who find out that they and their US frontier world are not as real as they believed. In many ways it could be a solid mix of BSG, Jurassic Park and Blade Runner…
The production will feature an all-star cast including the likes of Anthony Hopkins (Shadowlands, Thor: The Dark World), Thandie Newton (Flirting, Mission Impossible 2, Rogue) Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood), Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, Homeland, 24: Legacy), James Marsden (X-Men, Unfinished Business), Lili Simmons (True Detective), Ed Harris (in a character rumoured to parallel Brynner’s role) and Ben Barnes (Sons of Liberty).
But it’s not been plain sailing for the series. It was originally intended to have the show ready for broadcast in 2015, but various delays occurred, largely because of the scale of the ambition – it is after all both a period drama and a hard-core science fiction concept. HBO is well known for explicit, edgy material – step forward and hold the door for Game of Thrones – but even in its early stages Westworld raised a few eyebrows. There were serious concerns over filming of scenes in which extra actors were asked to appear naked, their contracts saying that ‘genital to genital touching, having their genitals painted’ could be part of the filming. The actors union SAG-AFTRA insisted on being on set to make sure no laws were being broken or unprofessional advantage being taken and HBO had to issue a major clarification and rushed assurances that everything would be monitored carefully.
In January of this year, mid way through shooting, the project actually shut down for a considerable amount of time with HBO issuing a statement that said: “As we head into the final phase of production on Westworld, we’ve made the decision to take a brief hiatus in order to get ahead of the writing.” Person of Interest‘s Jonathan Nolan and co-writer Lisa Joy wanted more time to work on scripts and it did not begin production again until late April.
Many wondered if the troubled shoot would ever produce a viable series or might yet be a financial disaster – but all concerned promised their hard work and good intentions would continue and this week we’re seeing a longer trailer than the original teaser footage from 2015. It has to be said that although only time will tell of the mini-series works, it does indeed look as dark and as interesting as originally promised – risque but not gratuitous.
It would appear a lot of time, money and effort HAS been put into thise ten-episode run and the trailer seems to show that. We’re now looking forward to seeing the final result when it begins in October…
