With classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Minority Report under his belt, it’d be reasonable if most movie fans associated Steven Spielberg with science fiction. However, over the course of his legendary career, he has demonstrated a mastery of a variety of genres, helming everything from thrillers to action/adventure blockbusters to historical dramas and even a musical. He’s seemingly done it all, but there’s actually something notable missing from his filmography. Spielberg has never directed a Western. However, that is changing soon. As Spielberg puts the finishing touches on this summer’s Disclosure Day, he’s already planning what comes next.
Earlier this year, Spielberg revealed he is finally developing a Western. At this stage, details are hard to come by, but the Oscar-winning director has confirmed it will have horses and guns. He’s also making a point to ensure “there’ll be no tropes,” steering clear of some of the more dated elements of classic Westerns cinephiles know and love. As we await to learn more about what Spielberg has in store, we can’t help but wonder if there’s a chance his Western is actually an upcoming sci-fi reboot.
The timing of Spielberg’s Western announcement is interesting considering other developments happening in Hollywood. Word recently broke that Warner Bros. has a reboot of the 1973 Westworld movie in the works. As of this writing, no director is attached, but frequent Spielberg collaborator David Koepp (who penned Disclosure Day) is onboard to write the script. Odds are, this is just one big coincidence, but there’s enough there to make people wonder if these two projects are possibly the same. It’s not as far-fetched as one might think — especially when you consider Spielberg’s history.
The original Westworld film was written and directed by Michael Crichton, the author who is best known for writing Jurassic Park. So, Spielberg clearly has plenty of experience bringing Crichton’s work to life on the big screen. Even more, Koepp wrote the scripts for the first two Jurassic Park films (which were directed by Spielberg), making it easy to imagine a scenario where the two come together to tell another story about an amusement park gone awry. They would be able to explore similar themes in a different context, tapping into timely concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence. As compelling as this would be, in all likelihood, it’s just a pipe dream.
WB’s Westworld reboot is presumably targeting a major director, and Spielberg would certainly fit that bill. However, if Spielberg was involved with Westworld (in any capacity), it probably would have been mentioned in the original report. The trades wouldn’t say that there isn’t a director attached if arguably the most famous living filmmaker was planning on calling the shots. With that in mind, it’s reasonable to assume this new Westworld and Spielberg’s Western are two different projects that just happen to be making their way through development at the same time.
This isn’t to say that Spielberg couldn’t be the director of Westworld. Given his penchant for compelling sci-fi and love of Westerns, it’s definitely a film that would fit within Spielberg’s wheelhouse, but whether or not he signs on would depend on a variety of factors. His Western is seemingly still in the earliest stages, but if he’s already talking about that as his next film, he’s likely looking to start work on it in earnest once Disclosure Day has been released. Theoretically, there could be scheduling conflicts with Westworld. It also remains to be seen if Westworld will survive the developing Warner Bros./Paramount merger. Right now, WB has to operate as if it’s business as usual, but once new leadership takes over, the film slate will surely be re-evaluated.
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