J.J. Abrams To Bring ‘Westworld’ To The Small Screen

J.J. Abrams and Jonah Nolan are once again teaming up to bring Michael Crichton’s 1973 classic science fiction film ‘Westworld’ to the small screen. HBO has already green lit the pilot to be made for the potential series which has Nolan directing and co-writing the pilot script with Lisa Joy (‘Burn Notice,’ ‘Pushing Daisies’) and Jerry Weintraub producing.

Next to ‘Logan’s Run,’ ‘Westworld’ was another early 70s film that boasted a very intriguing and unique sci-fi concept for its time when it was released. The film starred the iconic Yul Brynner (‘The King and I,’ ‘The Magnificent Seven’) and was set in a futuristic amusement park where people paid vast amounts of money to indulge in their wildest fantasies which were fulfilled by the use of androids on the premises. The problem arises when the robots malfunction and create havoc and terror throughout the park. Interestingly enough, the film introduced the concept of a computer virus as a possible cause for the android malfunctions before computer viruses became common place knowledge as it is today.

This isn’t the first time ‘Westworld’ has tried to be rebooted. Even after a less than desirable sequel was made called ‘Futureworld’ and a short lived spin off series called ‘Beyond Westworld’ aired, a feature film had been in the works for several years now with Arnold Schwarzenegger (‘Terminator’, ‘Conan’) linked to the Bynner role and Tarsem Singh (‘Mirror, Mirror,’ ‘Immortals’) attached to direct.

This project, however, does seem to have a little more promise than its predecessors. HBO’s log line for the series is as follows:

“Set in the amazing world dreamt up by Michael Crichton, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.”

With the lesser restrictions for shows on cable (as seen in the amount of nudity and violence in ‘Game of Thrones’), and having a setting of an amusement park catering to your every fantasy and desire, it is easy to see why HBO would snatch this project up!

If the pilot does receive a series order, expect to see ‘Westworld’ on the small screen sometime in the latter half of 2014.