'Westworld' Season 1 News: HBO Suspends Production On Sci-Fi Thriller

By Jackie Villegas, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, January 23, 2016

According to Variety, HBO has temporarily shut down production of its highly anticipated new science fiction drama/thriller "Westworld."

"As we head into the final phase of production on 'Westworld,' we've made the decision to take a brief hiatus in order to get ahead of the writing," a statement from HBO read.

The project will be put on hold for two months as executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy work on the first season's final four scripts. According to Variety's sources, production is expected to resume in March.

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"Westworld," which is based on the 1973 film of the same title, was created by Nolan and Joy. J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk serve as co-executive producers on the series.

The film "Westworld" was written and directed by sci-fi writer Michael Crichton. It was the author's film directorial debut. The movie, which starred Yul Brynner, James Brolin, and Richard Benjamin, spawned a sequel, "Futureworld," which was released in 1976. A television series, "Beyond Westworld," aired just three episodes in 1980 and was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

Reports indicate that HBO expects the project to hits its targeted premiere date even with the current two-month hiatus it is in. The pilot episode of "Westworld" was given the green light in 2013 and HBO announced that it was ordering the sci-fi drama/thriller to series in November 2014. The original target premiere date for the series was sometime in 2015, with production expected to wrap in November.

"Westworld," "a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin," stars Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford, Ed Harris as Man in Black, Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay, James Marsden as Teddy Flood, Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy, Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe, and Rodrigo Santoro as Harlan Bell.

No official release date has been announced for "Westworld," though HBO has confirmed that it will air in 2016.