After what’s felt like years of waiting, Westworld will finally open its pearly gates and let the people in. Set your DVRs/grab your parent’s HBOGo password, because Sunday, October 2nd at 9PM is when we’ll finally get to visit Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s vision of a very dark future.
During Saturday morning’s Television Critics Association summer tour, the network announced not only the series’ arrival, but also provided a ton more details about what to expect from the adaptation of the Michael Crichton film from 1973. And, to put it bluntly, this iteration is coming from a very different point of view. Needless to say there are spoilers ahead, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know more character details!
Dubbed “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin, exploring a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged,” in a press release, HBO gave shape to the main characters we’ll encounter in the sci-fi Western about an alternate reality theme park.
First up? The Westworld team, which includes Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), described as the “brilliant, taciturn and complicated creative director, chief programmer and founder of Westworld, who has an uncompromising creative vision for the park.” Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) is another member of Ford’s crew, “the brilliant and quixotic head of the park’s Programming Division, whose keen observation of human nature provides him with boundless inspiration for his life’s work: creating artificial people.”
Elsewhere in the Westworld world there’s Theresa Cullen (Sidse Babett Knudsen), head of Quality Assurance, who is “responsible for keeping the park from sliding into unscripted chaos.” Elsie Hughes (Shannon Woodward), a sardonic rising star in the Behavior Department, is charged with diagnosing the odd quirks of behavior in the park’s hosts. Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) is the “no-nonsense head of Security, charged with monitoring host and human interactions and ensuring the safety of the guests,” and Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), the head of Narrative, is someone whose “storylines tantalize the guests, while his temperament grates on his colleagues.”
As for the robots, there’s Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) is considered “a provincial, beautiful and kind rancher’s daughter, who begins to discover that her entire idyllic existence is an elaborately constructed lie.” (And Dolores, for what it’s worth, looks to be our main POV character when it comes to the rise of self-awareness.)
Other characters include Teddy Flood (James Marsden), “a new arrival to a small frontier town, quickly proves both his charm and talent with a revolver,” and “razor-sharp madam Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton),” who “has a genius for reading people and a knack for survival, but her seen-it-all-before worldview is about to be challenged.” And we also got more details about Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson), “a mysterious and savvy provocateur with a unique perspective on Westworld” and first-time visitor, William (Jimmi Simpson), who is described as “initially wary of the park’s more lascivious attractions, but slowly uncovers a deeper meaning.” His friend, Logan (Ben Barnes), is a veteran guest, “whose hedonistic romp through the park is equally motivated by self-indulgence and a desire” to help his buddy. And Clementine Pennyfeather (Angela Sarafyan), “one of Westworld’s most popular attractions, is perfectly beguiling, by design.”
As for the more mysterious of the lot, there’s The Man in Black (Ed Harris), who is dubbed as, “distillation of pure villainy into one man,” and Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro), who is considered Westworld’s “perennial ‘most wanted’ bandit,” and “subscribes to the theory that the West is a wild place, and the only way to survive is to embrace the role of predator.” Armistice (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) is called “a savage fighter and brutal bandit, whose ruthlessness is surpassed only by her abiding loyalty to her fellow outlaws,” and Lawrence (Clifton Collins, Jr.), is considered “a charming but lethal outlaw,” with “a knack for maneuvering and negotiating the various criminal elements of Westworld.”
Whew! That’s a lot of information, no? What do you think about the newest details about Westworld? Let us know in the comments below.
Images: HBO
Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist, creator/co-host of Fangirling, and is also on Twitter (if you are, too).
