‘Westworld’ Confirms Whether Season 1 Goes Roman or Medieval

Whether or not Westworld turns into the next major franchise for HBO, few would argue that creators have crafted a layered re-imagining of the original 1973 film, with ample room to explore in subsequent seasons. Fans of the original film have wondered if HBO’s Westworld might even visit other period parks in its first season, for which production designers now have a definitive answer.

Be warned of minor spoilers for the first season of Westworld from here on out, but it looks like HBO will be keeping its swords sheathed (or at least contained to Game of Thrones) through Season 1. Where the original film also included a “Roman World” and “Medieval World” to complement the Delos organization’s Western offering, a new Inverse interview with production designer Zack Grobler reserves those areas for a different season:

For the first season, we only explore the West World. There’s talk about in the future seasons, if there’s more, that there will be a different world. But we’re not sure what it will be yet.

Indeed, the sizable investment of HBO’s Westworld has the network already eying at least five seasons worth of mythology; plenty of time to trade in those six-shooters for a sword and shield, or any other possibilities. Deadline also previously asked creator Jonathan Nolan about the possibility of the other worlds in later seasons, though Nolan would only say so much:

The film’s story was virtually limitless and so is television at this moment with audiences enjoying shows that break out of their traditional story structures. We definitely look to fully exploit that aspect of storytelling in Westworld.

There’s ample story yet to be told in the nine remaining episodes of Westworld Season 1, but will those scenic vistas eventually grow stale?