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Jonathan Nolan reveals how The Mandalorian showed Westworld the way for Season 3
The Mandalorian is the TV show that keeps on giving. Not only did it build out Star Wars lore in an interesting way and introduce us to the adorable Baby Yoda, but it also helped make Season 3 of Westworld a reality. During a recent chat with Variety, Westworld co-creator Jonathan Nolan revealed how Jon Favreau's adventures in the galaxy far, far away ended up benefiting HBO's hit sci-fi series.
Reflecting back on his days as showrunner on CBS's Person of Interest, Nolan (who is the brother of director Chris) wanted to overcome the issue of a stationary backdrop that tricks the audience into thinking something is farther away than it actually is. Since a subtle camera movement can break the illusion, the production struggled (and failed) to find a way around the parallax effect.
“We tried to develop a technology where you could live-project backgrounds but then shift them [in real time] for parallax,” Nolan explained. When that didn't work, Favreau “very, very generously” shared what he knew of the parallax problem after using revolutionary tech — one similar to the kind Nolan was attempting to develop — on his own series for Disney+.
As Variety posits, Favreau's technical insight turned out to be invaluable for the San Francisco-based headquarters of Delos, the multibillion-dollar company that owns Westworld.
With the story now taking place in the outside world instead of the titular theme park, critics have been characterizing the show's third season as a "reboot" of sorts. Moreover, early reviews state that the plot is much easier to follow this time around when compared to the convoluted labyrinth of ideas that was Season 2.
“It’s a lot more linear this season,” Evan Rachel Wood, who plays robotic revolution leader Dolores, also told Variety. “It feels like we’re introducing a new show to the world again, starting over and building it from the ground up with these characters that we know and love, and with the elements that are still very much Westworld."
Season 3 of Westworld premieres on HBO this Sunday (March 15) at 9 p.m. EST.
Season 2 of The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ this fall.
