Westworld is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film Westworld, written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populated by androids that malfunction and begin killing the human visitors; it was followed by the sequel filmFutureworld. The franchise moved to television in 1980 with the short-lived series Beyond Westworld. In 2016 HBO debuted a reboot of Westworld based on the original film; the critically acclaimed television series has broadcast three seasons, with a fourth in production.
Film series
''Westworld'' (1973)
Westworld was the first theatrical feature novelist Michael Crichton directed, after one TV movie. It was also the first feature film to use digital image processing to pixellate photography in order to simulate an android's point of view. The film was nominated for Hugo, Nebula and Saturn awards. The film was well-received by critics. The story is about amusement park robots that malfunction and begin killing visitors. It stars Yul Brynner as an android in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park, and Richard Benjamin and James Brolin as guests of the park.
''Futureworld'' (1976)
Futureworld is the sequel to the Michael Crichton film. The sequel stars Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, Stuart Margolin, John Ryan, and Yul Brynner, who makes a cameo appearancein a dream sequence. Other than Brynner, none of the cast members from the original film appear, and original writer-director Crichton and original studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was not involved. The story is set two years after the Westworld tragedy, with the Delos corporation having reopened the park. The story starts when newspaper reporter Chuck Browning and TV reporter Tracy Ballard are invited to review the park.
Principal cast
Crew
Television series
''Beyond Westworld'' (1980)
Beyond Westworld was created by Michael Crichton which served as a continuation of the two feature films. The series stars Jim McMullan as Security Chief John Moore of the Delos Corporation. The story revolved around Moore having to stop the evil scientist, Quaid, as he plans to use the Delos robots to try to take over the world. It premiered on March 5, 1980 on the television network CBS in the United States. The show was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup and Outstanding Art Direction For a Series. Only five episodes were produced, of which three aired before the series' cancellation due to poor ratings.
''Westworld'' (2016–present)
Westworld is an American science fiction-thriller television series created by Husband-wife duo Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Nolan serves as executive producer along with Joy, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk. The series takes place in fictional Westworld, a technologically advanced, Western-themed amusement park populated completely by synthetic androids dubbed "Hosts". Westworld caters to high-paying visitors dubbed "Newcomers", who can do whatever they wish within the park, without fear of retaliation from the Hosts. Westworld premiered on October 2, 2016 on the cable television channel HBO in the United States. The series has been well received. The series has also attained strong Nielsen ratings for HBO, with the U.S. series premiere attracting 1.96 million viewers. A second season began on April 22, 2018, and a third season on March 15, 2020. A fourth season was ordered in April 2020.
Video game
A first-person shooter based on the film, titled Westworld 2000, was released in 1996.
