“Game Of Thrones” is over and long live “Game Of Thrones,” unless of course, you’re not a fan of the D. B. Weiss and David Benioff writing that has torn the internet into a war this final season, in which case, never mind. But the point is, HBO is saying goodbye to its flagship show that has brought them millions and millions of viewers and now they’re looking for an heir apparent. And it’s pretty obvious who they appointed, given the trailer they released tonight. Yes, HBO is looking towards the future, the horizon for their next big leader and it seems like they may be placing all their bets on “Westworld.”
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Tonight, right before “Game Of Thrones” premiered, HBO released a new teaser trailer for “Westworld” season three and it looks and promises something totally different. In fact, if you weren’t paying attention and knew the early casting of Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), the trailer was so radically different, you may not have even known this piece of marketing was for “Westworld” with its reveal at the end of Evan Rachel Wood. And of course, that was by design.
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Featuring Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage” as the soundtrack and Aaron Paul seemingly looking for meaning in a synthetic world, “Westworld” has finally gone outside the gates of the park into its futuristic world, but robots still abound.
But perhaps more importantly, can “Westworld” get back on track? Season two was incredibly messy and ratings fell dramatically from season one—a season that definitely looked like the logical heir to “Game Of Thrones”… at first. Its complex labyrinth-y storytelling meant that some audiences lost interest and bailed all together.
In its season two finale, “Westworld” essentially hit the reset button on its premise, promising a brand new story in the unknown real world outside of the Westworld park. Which is where we are now with Aaron Paul and this cryptic teaser, but this show has lots of ground to make up with viewers.
And while they are still heavily involved, “Westworld” was dealt a blow earlier this year when its creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy essentially ended their partnership with Warner Bros’, who owns HBO, and instead signed a hyper-lucrative deal with Amazon worth $150 million.
They will remain as writers and executive producers on“Westworld,” which is produced by Warner Bros, and Nolan is directing the premiere episode, but they are already developing new Amazon series and perhaps they’ll slowly ease their way out of the “Westworld” park. It’s too early to tell if their absence will affect the show because the pair aren’t even gone, but if you sign a five-year $150 million contract elsewhere…. well, maybe leaving your old home feels like an inevitability. Anyhow, regardless, chew on all that and watch the new “Westworld” season three trailer here.