''Westworld'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

- 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 An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...

that malfunction and begin killing the human visitors; it was followed by the sequel film ''

Futureworld ''Futureworld'' is a 1976 American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and written by Mayo Simon and George Schenck. It is a sequel to the 1973 Michael Crichton film '' Westworld'', and is the second installment in ...

'' (1976). The franchise moved to television in 1980 with the short-lived series ''

Beyond Westworld ''Beyond Westworld'' is a 1980 American television series based on the 1973 film ''Westworld,'' which was written and directed by Michael Crichton. It ignored the 1976 film sequel ''Futureworld''. Synopsis Security Chief John Moore of the Delos C ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. In 2016 a new television series based on the original film debuted on HBO; the critically acclaimed series broadcast four full seasons before being cancelled.

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 Digital image processing is the use of a digital computer to process digital images through an algorithm. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has many advantages over analog image processing. It allo ...

to pixellate photography in order to simulate an android's point of view. The film was nominated for

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

, 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 Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

as an android in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park, and

Richard Benjamin Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known film productions, including ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; ''Catch-22'' (1970), fro ...

and

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He ...

as guests of the park.

''Futureworld'' (1976)

''Futureworld'' is the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the Michael Crichton film. The sequel stars Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill,

Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...

, John Ryan, and

, who makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in a

dream sequence A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other ...

. Other than Brynner, none of the cast members from the original film appear, and original writer-director Crichton and original studio

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

were not involved.Variety Staff. December 31, 1975
"Futureworld"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. The story is set two years after the Westworld tragedy, with the Delos corporation having reopened the park. The story starts when

newspaper reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Chuck Browning ( Peter Fonda) and TV reporter Tracy Ballard ( Blythe Danner) 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 Simon 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

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'' (2016–2022)

''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller television series created by husband-wife duo

Jonathan Nolan Jonathan Nolan (born 6 June 1976) is a British-American screenwriter, producer, director and author. He is the creator of the CBS science fiction series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016) and co-creator of the HBO science fiction western s ...

and

Lisa Joy Lisa Joy (born May 23, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and attorney. She is best known as the co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the HBO science-fiction drama series ''Westworld'' (2016–2022). For ...

. Nolan serves as executive producer along with Joy,

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

and

Bryan Burk Bryan Burk (born December 30, 1968) is an American film and television producer. He is mostly known for producing movies in collaboration with J. J. Abrams, including the ''Star Trek'' reboot series, the ''Mission: Impossible'' films '' Gh ...

. The series takes place in fictional Westworld, a technologically advanced,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-themed amusement park populated completely by synthetic androids dubbed "Hosts". Westworld caters to high-paying visitors dubbed "Newcomers" (also known as "Guests"), 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.

Season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also * ...

debuted on June 26, 2022. In November 2022 it was announced that HBO had cancelled ''Westworld''.

Video games

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

based on the film, titled ''

Westworld 2000 ''Westworld 2000'' is a video game developed by American studio Brooklyn Multimedia and published by Byron Preiss Multimedia for Windows in 1996. Gameplay ''Westworld 2000'' is a first-person, 3D shooter based on the 1973 film ''Westworld''. Rec ...

'', was released in 1996. An action game based on the TV series, titled ''Westworld Awakening'', was released in 2019 for

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

headsets.

''Westworld'' in popular culture

*1981: "Do You Believe in the West World" is the lead track and a single from the 1981 album ''

Westworld ''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 populate ...

'' by British post-punk band

Theatre of Hate Theatre of Hate are a British post-punk band formed in London, England, in 1980. Led by singer-songwriter Kirk Brandon (formerly of the Pack), the original group also consisted of bassist Stan Stammers (formerly of the Straps and the Epilepti ...

. The single went on to reach no. 1 in the U.K. independent singles chart. *1991: The '' Red Dwarf'' episode "

Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * Me ...

" is based on the 1973 film ''

''. *2001:

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus (born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and as a solo artist. ...

mentions

and ''

'' in the track "Jo Jo's Jacket" from his 2001 eponymous album.

References

{{Warner Bros. franchises Amusement parks in fiction Films set in the future Science fiction film franchises Cloning in fiction Turner Entertainment franchises