Entertainment

Why ‘Westworld’ Movie Fans Shouldn’t Expect To See This Park On The Series Anytime Soon

John P. Johnson/HBO

Ever since it was announced that HBO would be adapting Michael Crichton's cult classic 1973 film to the small screen, fans have been wondering if and when the story would expand to include the movie's other two parks. Will Roman World be in Westworld Season 2? And what about Medieval World? While the original movie made it clear off the bat that there were different themed "worlds" guests could visit, the entirety of Westworld Season 1 took place within the confines of the titular park, with only a brief tease of the existence of a second park — which fans now know as Shogun World — during the finale.

So when will the show just hurry up and take viewers to Roman World already? The fans demand togas and coliseums and bacchanalias and gladiator fights, darn it! After all, Season 2 officially confirmed that there are at least six parks — with Ashley Stubbs stating in the premiere that the dead tiger must have escaped from Park 6 — so there's plenty of room for more themed adventures outside of the Wild West and feudal Japan.

But the mystery isn't just a matter of when Roman World will be introduced… but even if it will be introduced at all.

Showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have been unsurprisingly unforthcoming on this topic, giving vague but seemingly conflicting answers on separate occasions. First, at their show's New York Comic-Con panel in October of 2016, a fan asked whether Roman World and Medieval World exist in Westworld's universe, according to Insider. "I've been coming to New York Comic-Con for seven years and I've never said a single thing of substance. They keep inviting me back but I've never answered a single question, not really," Nolan began, before breaking his own streak with a surprisingly succinct answer. "You said Roman World and Medieval World, right? No."

That seems clear. So why, a year later, in October of 2017, did Nolan contradict himself during the Vanity Fair Summit? Asked why he and Joy chose to omit the movie's two other parks from their show, he answered, "We had to save something for Season 2." That certainly seems to imply that fans will finally be getting a glimpse of Roman World during Westworld's sophomore season, right?

So why did he say "No" to Roman World and Medieval World in 2016? Plans could have changed between seasons… or his answer at NYCC may have been more cagey than it seemed. Maybe the show will introduce those two parks — under different names. (Most fans assumed the park teased in the Season 1 finale would be called "Samurai World" until Nolan and Joy surprised everyone by naming it "Shogun World" instead.)

It's also possible that Nolan's later, contradictory answer was meant to be purposefully confounding, and they really do have no plans to include the movie's other parks, as he initially stated. After all, if there are only six parks, then there isn't room for them all, anyway. The show already has three — West, Shogun, and whichever Indian-themed park the Bengal tiger escaped from — leaving only three more slots for the movie's four other parks: Roman, Medieval, Future, and Spa (the latter two introduced in the 1976 sequel, Futureworld).

Rather than taking up precious screen time including parks the audience is expecting (parks that also closely mirror aesthetics many HBO subscribers are already familiar with from Rome and Game Of Thrones), it seems more likely that Nolan and Joy will keep fans guessing, continuing to come up with their own original ideas for what other Delos Destinations are out there. It may take a while to find out, regardless; after exploring only one park in Season 1, it seems unlikely viewers will get to visit all six in Season 2.

After all, to paraphrase Nolan… they have to save something for Season 3.