"Westworld" season 2 won't be airing until 2018 on HBO. While waiting for its return, however, devoted fans have been keeping themselves busy posting theories, speculations and images in a forum dedicated to the show.
They received a surprise from co-creator Jonathan Nolan over the weekend when he joined and posted an image of a maze via Reddit. Mazes form part of how the show tells its story but what was notable about Nolan's post was that it also hinted season 2's first episode title partially.
Jonathan Nolan's image showed that season 2 episode 1 would be called "Journey Into..." but the writer covered the remaining words. Fans assumed the full title must be "Journey into Night," which alluded to the last narrative Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) created for his theme park.
‘Journey into Night’
Before Robert Ford was shot and left for dead in last season’s finale, he talked about this narrative. "It begins with the birth of a new people, and the choices they will have to make, and the people they will decide to become," he said.
Viewers might recall that "Westworld" season 1 ended with the robots taking over the theme park as they have come into a consciousness and self-awareness.
They've become the "new people" that Ford referred to and thus, started a resistance against the humans.
Filming begins for season 2
Meanwhile, the series will reportedly begin production of the show's season 2 on July 10 in California and Utah. Jonathan Nolan and co-creator Lisa Joy have been writing the new season’s story since early this year.
Nolan admitted they have to change their approach for the upcoming stories as fans cleverly figured out the twist early in episode 3 last year. “It’s annoying sometimes when people guess the twists and then blog about it, but the engagement is gratifying, on one level,” he said. An official premiere date for “Westworld” season 2 has not yet been announced.
“Westworld” is based off the 1973 movie from novelist Michael Crichton that starred Yul Brenner. It is about a highly-advanced and very expensive theme park where visitors can re-live their best fantasies. Artificial intelligence plays a big part in how the park is managed but, as season one has shown, science has slowly crept up on the humans, posing a real and serious danger for the business, its investors and its guests.
In its first season, “Westworld" was cited for several awards including Best Actress for Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, and Best Drama Series.