A new trailer for Westworld keeps the focus tight on the plight of Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), a robotic denizen of the Westworld theme park who seems to be undergoing a transition into human consciousness, awakening to her enslavement in the land of twisted amusement overseen by Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins).
The new trailer for HBO’s ambitious reboot of Michael Crichton’s original 1973 film hints at a plot for the updated take on machine consciousness and the nature of the human “soul.” While the trailer makes clear that Dolores Abernathy is one of the park’s androids, it leaves mysterious the human or robotic origin of some of the other main characters, particularly Teddy Flood (James Marsden). While Abernathy at first believes the futuristic control centers of Westworld to be nothing more than a dream, this trailer makes clear the struggle she faces, trapped between a theme park that won’t acknowledge her sentience and the spree killings of the mysterious, robotic Man in Black (Ed Harris).
Watch the new trailer for yourself and begin to plumb the mysteries of Westworld:
While Westworld hopes to address some big questions, this newest trailer really highlights the relatively small ensemble of characters. This doesn’t look to be a Game of Thrones-inspired sprawl.
Hopefully its treatment of AI Risk and artificial consciousness is more nuanced than other recent “who’s the android?” genre stalwarts like Battlestar Galactica. It looks like Westworld will be bringing the anticipated portion of HBO gore and sex to the party. But can it bring new ideas to an AI conversation that’s far surpassed the story’s 70s origin?
We’ll find out when Westworld premieres Oct. 2.
