According to Variety, HBO has green-lighted a pilot for a series based on the Michael Crichton novel and 1973 film Westworld. The movie, starring Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin, was one of my favorites growing up. There was a not-so-good sequel, Futureworld, and a dismal failure TV series, “Beyond Westworld” that seemed to follow the plot from Futureworld.
I’m not sure if the basic concept (“malfunctioning robots kill guests at an amusement park”) can sustain a whole series, but it’s possible if they cleave instead to Crichton’s broad theme (“technology is threatening” – pretty much the theme for every book and movie he ever did), it might work. According to the article, they’ve certainly got some proven talent behind the camera.
