While all eyes are on the mysterious ‘Samurai World,’ an official HBO website hints at four additional parks within the science-fiction world.
Even with months still to go between now and the season two premiere, Westworld is expanding its world in a big way.
A new website tied to the HBO series has revealed that the fictional world in which the genre-bending drama is set contains not one, not two, but six parks total. Viewers are already well accustomed to the titular Westworld, while the season one finale revealed the existence of “Samurai World,” as it’s come to be known in the fan community. The revelation of four additional parks — the identities of which remain under wraps — is brand-new, even if it shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have paid attention to show creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s feelings on the expanding scope of their series.
“I’ve worked in television for years and I love all of the different ways you can build a show. But for the most part, you get through the pilot, you build your sets, you hire your cast, and it’s working, and you just want to hang out in that moment and enjoy that moment with that iteration of the story you’re telling,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “For Lisa and myself, with this show, we never had any intention of staying in one place. We don’t want to shoot on the same sets for 10 years. We want to blow the sets up and move onto another piece of the story. So we said when we started working on the series that we wanted to be ambitious. We wanted each season to increase in that ambition and in the scope of the show. It also follows the story of our hosts. Their lives begin in loops, and then expand and change and grow. It’s an origin of a new species. We want to follow that story all the way to the bitter end.”
The website DelosDestinations.com was discovered by fans who decoded a secret message hidden within the Westworld season two trailer timed with the Super Bowl. For now, the website is thin on details, with only three sections: “about,” “experience” and “investors.” From the “about” page:
“The luxury resort, reimagined. Delos Destinations channels your inner desires — be they rest or rebellion — into a transportive theme park experience, a vacation that transcends time, place and expectations. Our immersive worlds integrate inspired technology, provocative narratives, and unprecedented innovation to offer an opportunity that redefines life itself: the chance to change your story. … A subsidiary of Delos Incorporated, Delos Destinations employs our award-winning biotech to create authentic, unforgettable experiences that redefine the art of simulation. In a world that’s become inundated by the virtual, escape the screen and take hold of a freedom you can physically touch. It’s a feeling that will challenge your idea of reality — and as our friends here like to say, if you can’t tell the difference, does it matter?”
The “experience” page is where it’s revealed that there are six parks total within the world of Westworld, although only Westworld proper is identified by name. A second park comes paired with swirling, glitchy video; mossy mountains and fog appear in the background, if one can stand to stare at the image for more than a few seconds at a time. The four other parks are labeled as “authorized personnel only,” with “reservations closed to the public.” A possible interpretation is that at the time of the show’s continuity, only Westworld and the so-called “Samurai World” are in active use. In the Michael Crichton film on which Westworld is based, two other parks are available to guests: Roman World and Medieval World. Given the revelation of four parks in addition to Westworld and “Samurai World,” one can certainly hope the HBO adaptation will follow in the heels of its predecessor.
Finally, there’s the third page, “investors,” which reveals the identity of a new character: James Delos, the founder of Delos Inc. According to EW, actor Peter Mullan has been cast in the role. The page on Delos reveals: “Decades ago, a man had an idea as old as human ambition itself, that the only limit to progress is imagination. The ability to see a better world. Delos Inc. was formed from that goal and nothing else, because James had nothing else. He used to joke that where he grew up, having dreams was like fighting gravity. But he never lost faith that his dream could take off, and now Delos is more than a name. It’s a legacy.”
In the first season of the series, William (Jimmi Simpson) and Logan (Ben Barnes) visited Westworld a few decades before the show’s present-day action. In that storyline, Logan mentioned how his family’s company, Delos, was an investing force in the park. We later learned that William, an executive vice president at Delos at the time he first arrives in Westworld, is a younger version of the Man in Black (Ed Harris), the vicious gunslinger identified by others in the park as a high-powered philanthropist in the outside world. In other words, expect a deep connection between the Man in Black and James Delos when the company founder makes himself known in season two, premiering April 22.
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