Jonathan Nolan Explains The Westworld Season 2 Super Bowl Trailer

Westworld co-creator Jonathan Nolan breaks down the new Westworld Season 2 Super Bowl trailer. Secrets and all!

The Westworld Season 2 Super Bowl trailer was incredible and has fans everywhere excited for the new season. It showed us many things, but above all, it showed us that all hell has broken loose in the park. Dolores, Maeve, Bernard, and The Man in Black are all returning, and it looks like the hosts revolution is in full swing. Although it wasn’t our first look at the new season, it gave us a better idea of what we’re in for.

Beyond what we learned about Season 2 from the new trailer, it’s also a piece of art. A lot of time and care went into the Super Bowl ad, which quickly became one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Westworld’s co-creator Jonathan Nolan recently broke down how he (and his team) put the trailer together. Interestingly enough, his comments explain a lot about the new trailer and what we can look forward to in the future. Let’s look at what Nolan had to say.

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Jonathan Nolan Explains How He Put Together Westworld’s Season 2 Super Bowl Trailer

During his exclusive chat with EW, Nolan explained that the new trailer was created specifically for the Super Bowl. He talked about what they tried to achieve with the trailer, and why it didn’t look like the normal HBO fare:

"“We’ll do a proper trailer later in the year. This was very much conceived as a Super Bowl spot. HBO came to us and said they wanted to do it… and we were incredibly excited. The show has been off the air [since 2016], longer than normal for a TV show and we wanted to create a love letter to Super Bowl spots in general.”"

Nolan continued, and said that he wanted to fool audiences into thinking that the trailer was just another Super Bowl ad:

"” I wanted it to feel like one of these beautifully crafted love letters you get in the Super Bowl. Something that gives you a sense of what the park was supposed to feel like — this idyllic dream of the pastoral and idealized West that Americans get sold during the Super Bowl ads, and then pull the rug out and remind the audience what they’re really watching.”"

He then went on and talked about the final shot of the trailer. We are, of course, talking about Dolores’ speech that ends with her barreling the lens. It turns out, this is not a shot from Westworld Season 2. Instead, it was specifically shot for the Super Bowl trailer:

"“That set piece was conceived for the season and we executed it with extra time and care because our partners at HBO thought it would make a great centerpiece for the ad. It has always been scripted, but we leaned harder into it.”"

Nolan Explains The Significance Of The Bulls, The Music And Where The New Season Is Heading

During the lengthy interview, Nolan also commented on the iconic shot of Maeve leading the host bulls through Delos. Surprisingly, those shots were meant as an homage to the Budweiser Clydesdale horses. He also touched upon the instrumental version of Kayne West’s “Runaway used in the trailer. He went on to explain why the song was chosen specifically:

"“Kayne West is a genius and that song has stuck with me since I first heard it many years ago. It’s simultaneously incredibly beautiful and incredibly subversive. And what Ramin did with it, there’s a lot of different layers.”"

He also touched on some of the characters who popped-up in the trailer; specifically, Logan (Ben Barnes) and Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum). Prior to the trailer, there were rumors that both actors would return for Season 2, but this was our first confirmation. Nolan commented on their return and gave fans an idea of what we can expect in Season 2:

"“They are back. We had so much fun working with Ben and Louis and had more story to tell with them. Dolores’ story — as we’ve learned about all our hosts by the end of the first season — their lives span decades. So, we have more storytelling to do about the origin of the park and the park’s little secret project.”"

Hopefully, we will learn more about Westworld Season 2 and also get that new trailer Nolan promised. We still have a few months until Westworld Season 2 drops. Until then, we will continue to speculate on anything and everything Westworld.

Westworld Season 2 will premiere on HBO Sunday, April 22, 2018 9PM/EST

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Next: Westworld Season 2 Super Bowl Trailer Brings The Chaos