Last year, J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan teamed up again for an adaptation of Westworld at HBO. After nearly a year in development, the “Westworld” pilot is going forward with two major stars already attached to the project.
Evan Rachel Wood and screen icon Anthony Hopkins will star in HBO’s “Westworld,” which will re-imagine Michael Crichton’s 1973 movie of the same name which took place in a futuristic amusement park that was overrun by androids who rejected human control.
The new “Westworld” TV series is described as “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin” that will keep the setting of the original movie.Wood will play Dolores Abernathy, a farm girl in the Western frontier who will discover that her entire existence is a lie. Hopkins will play Dr. Robert Ford, the creator and programmer of Westworld.
Related: J.J. Abrams & Jonathan Nolan Reteam For Westworld Pilot At HBO
Wood has previously appeared on HBO in a recurring role on “True Blood” and a starring role in the “Mildred Pierce” miniseries in addition to her previous TV stints in “American Gothic,” “The West Wing” and “CSI.” In feature films, Wood is known for her performances in Across The Universe, The Wrestler, Thirteen and The Ides of March.
Hopkins is perhaps best known for his legendary turn as serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading role. Hopkins reprised his role as Hannibal Lecter in two subsequent films and he has starred in numerous movies including Nixon, The Remains of the Day, Amistad, Thor, Legends of the Fall and The Elephant Man. “Westworld” will be Hopkins first leading role on television.
Deadline is reporting that James Marsden (X-Men) may also be up for a leading role in the pilot episode of “Westworld.”
For the pilot, Jonathan Nolan is set to direct the episode and he co-wrote the script with his wife, Lisa Joy Nolan. Both of the Nolans will also be an executive producers on the potential “Westworld” series alongside Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bryan Burk.
