- Warning: Spoilers ahead for “Westworld” season three, episode two, “The Winter Line.”
- “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss made an important appearance in Sunday’s episode, helping reveal a new themed park.
- In an interview with Insider, “Westworld” cocreator Jonathan Nolan wouldn’t confirm or deny whether park four is Medieval World or Fantasy World.
- But Nolan did tell us about how the cameo scene referenced not just “Game of Thrones,” but also “Jurassic Park.”
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Sunday’s episode of “Westworld” revealed yet another one of the Delos parks – though its exact name remains a mystery. While speaking with “Westworld” creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy about the episode’s revelation, Insider posited the name “Fantasy World.”
“I think that is subject to some speculation,” Nolan said. “We are, we are neither going to confirm or deny it, hence ‘park four.'”
In the episode, Bernard and Stubb walk through the Delos mesa facility, and Bernard asks why they’re in “park four.” Behind the two characters, you can see hosts dressed in medieval-esque costuming. Stubbs says the parks are all shut down, but the techs are waiting to see if they will get “laid off.”
Then comes the real whammy – a “Game of Thrones” crossover in the form of a cameo from the fantasy series showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Both men appear in the episode dressed as Delos techs who are supposed to just fix up the hosts and send them back into the parks.
“Got a buyer,” the tech played by Weiss says.
“What?” Benioff replies.
“Some start up in Costa Rica,” Weiss says.
“How the f— are you gonna get that to Costa Rica?” Benioff asks.
“In pieces, man,” Weiss says.
Then we see that they’re referring to Drogon. Literally.
Curled up next to Benioff and Weiss is a smaller version of Drogon, one of Daenerys Targaryen’s iconic dragons from “Game of Thrones.” Weiss carries a small chain saw over to the dragon, presumably to chop him up into smaller pieces.
“We are both fans of and friends with Dan and David,” Nolan told Insider. “We had this goofy idea that we would pay homage to their staggeringly beautiful and ambitious show – the show that paved the way for us to be making ‘Westworld’ with the same kind of ambition and production value. They kind of invented this genre of TV. And they’re lovely guys.”
“So we pitched them this goofy idea, and they were kind enough to come and hang out on our set for one night and bring their oversized, fire-breathing friend with them,” Nolan continued.
The cameo was even more meta than you might have realised, with a sly reference to ‘Jurassic Park’
“Westworld” is based on the 1973 movie of the same name, which was written and directed by Michael Crichton. Crichton was also the author of the 1990 novel “Jurassic Park,” which was adapted into a hit movie franchise still evolving to this day.
“There were always two competing pitches, right? [First] George R.R. Martin – who we also know, and is a lovely person – frequently pitched the crossover of a ‘Westeros World’ episode,” Nolan said. “And then Athena Wickham, our partner and one of the executive producers on the show, insisted that we find a reference to Crichton’s other great ‘theme park run amok’ [story], ‘Jurassic Park.'”
“I was of the theory that the lovely people at NBC Universal probably had a lawyer sitting and watching every episode, waiting for the dinosaur, so they could make a friendly phone call to tell us to cease and desist,” Nolan said. “So we found a way to blend those two pitches into one ridiculous moment in our series.”
In “Jurassic Park,” the eponymous theme park is located on a fictional island, Isla Nublar, which is off the coast of Costa Rica.
By having the tech played by Weiss make a point of saying his buyer was in Costa Rica, Nolan and Joy were able to blend the “Game of Thrones” and “Jurassic Park” references into one short scene.
That’s not the first time ‘Game of Thrones’ fans have thought ‘Westworld’ was paying homage to HBO’s epic fantasy series
In the first season, Dr. Robert Ford’s office was decorated with a prominently featured wall of heads. These were an in-universe reference to his creation of the human-like hosts, but “Game of Thrones” fans thought it looked similar to the iconic “wall of faces” from the House of Black and White in Braavos.
Also in the first season of “Westworld,” Logan wore a familiar-looking pin on his jacket when he was “promoted” within the ranks of the Confederado army inside the park:
Many folks thought this could be the “Westworld” version of the pin traditionally worn by the Hand of the King (or Queen) in “Game of Thrones” (most frequently seen on Tyrion Lannister).
All this to say, we’re inclined to call park four “Fantasy World” instead of “Medieval World.” Especially since Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy said back in 2016 that we would not see “Medieval World” in the HBO adaptation of Crichton’s 1973 movie. You can read more about that here.
“Westworld” season three will continue next Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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