HBO paid big money to unveil a Westworld Season 2 Super Bowl trailer during the big game this evening, which also revealed the premiere date of the new season. Well not the exact date, but the spot says Westworld returns in April, confirming that the high-concept sci-fi series returns this spring—in the window that was traditionally reserved for Game of Thrones.
The spot offers a new look at the second season of the pay cable channel’s high-profile sci-fi series, which first debuted in 2016. From creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the series is a loose adaptation of the Michael Crichton novel of the same name and takes place in a Western-themed park populated by highly sophisticated androids, in which humans pay big money to live out their fantasies. But as Season 1 progressed, the robots grew far closer to their own consciousness while park co-founder Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) began pushing his own dangerous experiments past their limits.
HBO previously only bought Super Bowl spots in 1997 and 1998, both of which touted the network as a whole, so this Westworld spot is a very big deal. Indeed, not only is Game of Thrones not coming back this year, the mega-hit series only has one season left. Westworld has been conceived as a potential predecessor of sorts to that series in HBO’s eyes—a blockbuster-type level of production value and ideas, with HBO’s prestige sheen. While Season 1 garnered somewhat mixed reviews, the ratings were solid and fan anticipation is high for the second season.
This spot follows last year’s big Super Bowl spot for Stranger Things Season 2, which touted the second season of that highly anticipated Netflix series. Westworld has a similar if not as extreme level of interest, especially given the developments that occurred towards the end of the second season.
Watch the Westworld Season 2 Super Bowl trailer below and click here for our roundup of all the Super Bowl trailers. The series stars Evan Rachel Wood, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, James Marsden, and Jimmi Simpson.
