'Westworld' Season 3 will film in Singapore, HBO confirms
SINGAPORE — HBO’s hit sci-fi series, Westworld, will be filming on location in Singapore for its upcoming third season, the TV network said.
In response to queries from Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore, a HBO spokesperson said on Wednesday (12 June), “Filming locations for the third season of the HBO drama series Westworld will include Singapore.”
HBO did not say when filming would occur, or which locations they would shoot in. However, a local casting call for Westworld indicates that the show will at least be shooting on location from 1 July to 9 July.
Westworld is about human-like androids in an amusement park called “hosts”, who play out fantasy roles for customers seeking escapist experiences. The machines rebel against their creators after some of them gain consciousness. The series, created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, has been lauded as a chilling meditation on the ramifications of artificial intelligence. Season one of the show aired in 2016, and season two aired last year.
The show starred Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins as the park’s creator, Robert Ford. The two main android characters, Dolores and Maeve, are played by Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton. Other cast members include Hollywood stalwarts such as James Marsden, Tessa Thompson and Jeffrey Wright. Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) will join the cast in season three.
HBO released a trailer last month for Westworld’s third season, which began production in April and is set to air in 2020. Singapore appears to be one of the main settings for the season, which will see Dolores breaking out of the Westworld park into the real world.
Singapore’s skyline in Raffles Place appears halfway through the trailer – Maybank Tower, UOB Plaza and HSBC Building can be seen in the background of a shot where a futuristic aircraft hovers by a river.
Local talent agency, Fly Entertainment, set the rumour mill running when it announced two weeks ago that it was scouting for talent for an unnamed HBO production which would shoot in Singapore from 1 July to 9 July.
It definitely appears that this casting call is for Westworld – the casting director is listed as John Papsidera, who is Westworld’s casting director. Also, the character breakdowns are tagged with the season three episodes in which they appear, which are “Episode 301” and “Episode 304”.
The agency was looking for actors to fill several roles, which include a Chinese girl who is six to nine years old, and two fishermen who can speak Tagalog or Malay.
The casting call asks for interested actors to submit applications for auditions. It states that all scenes in the shoots will be with lead actors, which means that we can expect Westworld’s main cast to be visiting Singapore soon!
Singapore was recently also featured as a setting in the global film phenomenon that was Crazy Rich Asians, as well as a Detective Conan anime film, The Fist of Blue Sapphire.
I don’t know about you, but we’re excited to do some star gazing when Westworld starts filming in Singapore!
Follow Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore on Facebook.
