HBO trailer for âWestworldâ promises bloody robot drama and Anthony Hopkins
Behold the first teaser for HBOâs TV adaptation of the 1973 Michael Crichton movie âWestworld,â set in a future pleasure-island-type amusement park where lifelike androids re-create various scenes for paying park guests. An exceedingly talented collection of actors including Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins and Thandie Newton has assembled to reboot this sci-fi classic. This is the first real glimpse weâre getting at the new vision.
Jonathan Nolan (creator of âPerson of Interestâ) co-wrote and directed the pilot, so fingers crossed for lots artificial-intelligence-type fun. The teaser blends slick, futuristic hallways with dusty saloons, bloody pianos and robot skeletons but is (sadly) scarce on plot details.
The official synopsis is pretty vague as well, labeling the one-hour dramas series as a âdark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.â
Thereâs no telling just how close the new adaptation will stick to the 1973 source material, but it looks like a few of the characters appear to be similar. For example, Ed Harris has been cast as the mysterious robot gunslinger the Man in Black, which sounds fairly similar to the role originally portrayed by Yul Brynner.
There are a few other details about the rest of the cast: Anthony Hopkins is playing Dr. Robert Ford, creative director of Westworld. Evan Rachel Wood (centerpiece of this trailer) appears to be playing a confused android. And Thandie Newton is the Westworld madame Maeve Millay.
No clue if âWestworldâ will remain in the fantasy world constructed to resemble the American frontier (the original movie also had Roman- and medieval themed âworldsâ), but we canât wait for more details. The series will debut on HBO sometime in 2016.
More to Read
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.