Warner Bros. developing remake of Westworld by David Koepp

Ready to return to “Westworld?”

The 1973 sci-fi movie, written and directed by Michael Crichton and set in a robot-filled amusement park, is getting a remake courtesy of screenwriter David Koepp. The project is in development at Warner Bros. and, contrary to an earlier report, a director is not circling.

The original “Westworld” followed visitors of an adult amusement park, in the far-flung future of 1983. Guests of the park, which is themed to the Old West (hence Westworld), interact with humanoid robots and live out their cowboy fantasies. Of course, there is a systemic failure on the part of the park’s operators Delos and the robots start attacking the guests. (It is implied that Delos owns and runs a suite of these parks, including Medieval World.) Yul Brynner memorably played a character known only as the Gunslinger.

A minor box office hit at the time, making $10 million for MGM on a budget of just $1.2 million, it predated not only the upcoming threat of AI (hilariously, a plot point in “Westworld” detailed how the designers couldn’t get the hands on the robots quite right, a problem that still plagues generative AI imagery) and Crichton’s own “Jurassic Park,” a novel that would be released decades later and also involve a high-tech amusement park breaking down and threatening lives. Arrow Video recently released a wonderful deluxe 4K package for the original film that includes illuminating special features.

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