HBO has given an official series order to J.J. Abrams' new sci-fi series "Westworld, " according to Deadline. The show is based on Michael Crichton's 1973 film, and it was adapted for the small screen by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.
The series has an incredible cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Miranda Otto and Jeffrey Wright.
The story is set at an amusement park called, you guessed it, "Westworld," and it's described as "a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin."
Harris will play one of the central leads in the story known as The Man in Black, "the distillation of pure villainy into one man." Marsden is will play a character named Teddy Flood, "a mysterious new arrival to a small frontier town. Teddy quickly proves both his charm, and his talent with a revolver, while his pursuit of a local beauty launches him on a dark odyssey." Eddie Rouse has also joined the production and will play Kissy, "a laconic, American-Indian who deals cards and contraband from the town saloon."
The 1973 movie starring Yul Brenner, James Brolin and Richard Benjamin is a bona fide classic; essential viewing if you haven't seen it already. Abrams certainly has the golden touch as of late, and with a fantastic cast and proven premise as his disposal, I think he's going to have another big winner on his hands here.
