Westworld showrunners have "reinvented the show" for series two
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have hinted at what's to come when Westworld returns
Expect Westworld's second series to take a wildly different direction, because showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have hinted they'll be changing things up a LOT.
Speaking at SXSW, Nolan and Joy said that this time they wanted to have all the episodes written before starting production, seeing as time time around the series premiere was delayed twice so they could reconfigure the story. And when it came to actually shaping the second series, they took a different direction.
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"We weren’t really interested in doing a TV series," Nolan said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "We wanted to treat it more like a film franchise, like an instalment.
"And the only way I know how to do that is to change the game — reinvent the show — each season."
Joy also teased that the second series creates "a shifting lens on where our sympathies lie."
While they sidestepped questions about series two's "Shogun World", there were some hints about what's coming up. The first series ended with a BIG revelation for Jeffrey Wright's character Bernard: that (SPOILER ALERT) he was, himself, a host. Meanwhile, host Delores (Evan Rachel Wood) took her destiny into her own hands. And that's something we'll see play out when Westworld returns.
"Season two for Bernard is 'what the f**k just happened?'" he joked. Wood responded: "I feel like we swapped narratives. Now you’re the one that’s lost and trying to figuring it out."
Thandie Newton, who plays Maeve, also had an intriguing comment about actually working on the second series, which seems to have pushed her into uncomfortable territory as an actress.
"I was f**king angry," she admitted. "I was really cross. They forced me to do shit and I felt like a f**king child."
But, she added, "By the end of the season, I was really humbled. To be forced into a situation that is uncomfortable and then to come out the other side emboldened, is humbling."
Wood also approached the second series with strong emotions.
"You feel this looming dense of dread when you’re walking up to the set because we don't know what's going to happen ... it's like, 'Oh yeah, none of this ends well,'" she said. "Westworld is an onion. There’s always more layers that you’re peeling back. Every time you think you know everything, they throw more at you."
Westworld returns in April 2018
