The cable channel already has several critical and crowd pleasing hits under its belt and this could very well be the next one. The HBO Westworld series is already attracting A-list actors, producers, and writers into its team, and this could only mean very, very good television.
Actors such as Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden (X-Men), Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton (The Pursuit of Happyness), Ed Harris (The Truman Show), and Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings) are all part of the cast. Much of the allure of the series is that most of the characters are robots, which means that there is an endless possibility of playing around with personas for each of them. They could even be killed off, and then be re-cast as another robot.
This newest show will be based on Michael Crichton's 1973 movie called Westworld, which starred Yul Brenner as an android. HBO's Westworld series has been adapted from the book by Jonathan Nolan (brother of Dark Knight director Christopher, who also co-wrote with him the upcoming sci-fi thriller Interstellar), and his wife Lisa Joy.
Meanwhile, J.J. Abrams, well-known for directing Mission Impossible , Star Trek and Star Wars Episode VIII, has signed on to be the executive producer. Jerry Weintraub (Ocean's 11) is also an executive producer. The HBO Westworld series is said to be a "dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin."
Hopkins will be starring as Dr. Robert Ford, a creative director, chief programmer, and chairman of the board of Westworld, a futuristic, Western-themed amusement park. Dr. Ford is described as a genius leader, who will go to any lengths to make sure his vision for the park is made into reality. This will be Hopkins' first regular TV series role.
"This is built as a series, and, in terms of storytelling, I think the rules are definitely being broken," says Michael Lombardo, HBO's programming chief. "The promise of the show, in terms of where it's going is exciting to actors, and they want to be part of this."
