HBO ‘Westworld’ Resumes Production, Adds ‘Banshee’ Star Lili Simmons

HBO’s Westworld adaptation has seemingly struggled in recent months, closing down production to retool scripts and placing a 2016 premiere in doubt, but there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel. Production has officially resumed, adding True Detective and Banshee alum Lili Simmons along the way.

Per Deadline, Simmons will take the role of park worker Abigail, who “uses her good looks and charm to lure Westworld guests into the saloon.” The role apparently began in January, just as production was halted to allow writers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy to work on the final four scripts, and has since gotten back into gear.

Bizarre sex scandals aside, Bad Robot’s Westworld remakes the 1973 tale as “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.” Person of Interest creator and The Dark Knight co-writer Jonathan Nolan wrote the script with Burn Notice scribe Lisa Joy, with Nolan directing the pilot. Nolan and Joy executive produce with Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bryan Burk.

The new series features among its cast Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, X-Men star James Marsden, The Hunger Games and Boardwalk Empire star Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Raising Hope lead Shannon Woodward, 300 star Rodrigo Santoro, Angela Sarafyan, Simon Quarterman, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ben Barnes, Jimmi Simpson, and Clifton Collins, Jr.

For those unfamiliar with the original 1973 Yul Brynner-James Brolin film, Westworld told the story of a future resort wherein guests pay to live out time period fantasies brought to life by sophisticated human-like androids, before the robots began malfunctioning and killing the resort’s crew. The film spawned the sequel Futureworld, and eventually the short-lived ‘80s TV series Beyond Westworld.

Check out the teaser again below, while we wait for updates and an official premiere date.