With so many reboots and revivals around, it was only a matter of time before someone took on Westworld. The original 1973 movie remains a sci-fi classic that spawned sequels and two TV shows.
Now, per Deadline, David Koepp is working on a new revival of the film, which was written and directed by the late Michael Crichton. Koepp is already adept at adapting Crichton’s work, having helped turn Jurassic Park into a monster success in 1993 alongside Steven Spielberg.
The original Westworld was set in a future world where the rich can go to a massive fantasy park based on the Old West, filled with robots programmed to act like real people of the time. Things go awry when one ace gunslinger robot breaks its programming to kill humans, putting the park guests in real danger.
The film spawned a 1976 sequel, Futureworld, and a short-lived 1980 series, Beyond Westworld. In 2016, HBO revived the property for an acclaimed sci-fi series, which is often cited as a great first year only for a lackluster last three seasons before being unceremoniously canceled in 2022.
It’s uncertain how Koepp will update the material, but what’s intriguing is Deadline citing rumors that “a major director” is circling the project. Naturally, many have jumped to Spielberg, with whom Koepp has worked on the first two Jurassic movies with, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the upcoming Disclosure Day.
Fueling this was Spielberg stating that he’s tackling a Western, the one genre he’s never done before. So, Spielberg, Western, sci-fi with robots and a fantastic setting—it looks like a recipe for success. But is this really what fans would want?
Why Spielberg should skip Westworld
On paper, Spielberg seems perfect for this material. He’s a master of sci-fi tales, he knows how to direct a Koepp screenplay, and he wants to do a Western. It seems like this should be right up his alley, yet there are reasons Spielberg should skip it.
For one, he’s already done the “theme park gone crazy” thing already with Jurassic Park, which was influenced by Westworld. This would be retreading familiar ground, and while Spielberg does enjoy reusing themes in his work and has done sequels, this seems a bit too blatant.
There’s also how Spielberg has gone on record talking about Hollywood moving too much into IP and such, rather than more original storylines. Also, Spielberg’s filmography shows how he enjoys moving from one movie to a very different one. He went from the musical West Side Story to the personal drama The Fabelmans. He just made Disclosure Day, so shifting into another big sci-fi action piece would be a challenge for the nearly 79-year-old director.
It sounds like Spielberg's Western is going to be a classic one, as he loves a challenge, and doing a Western without sci-fi themes sounds more interesting to him. While he may be tempted by Westworld, it’s more likely Spielberg lets someone else direct it and he moves to a traditional Western tale.
It’s still in the early stages, and the project would take years to happen. Yet while the Spielberg of twenty years ago could have easily done Westworld, today he and his fans would be better served if this were one sci-fi epic he skipped on.
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