Even before its release, HBO’s sci-fi remake “Westworld” is already being touted as the next “Game of Thrones.” For any television show, that comparison is quite exciting yet daunting, especially since “Game of Thrones” is arguably the most popular show around.

“Westworld” creators Jonathan Nolan (brother of Christopher Nolan of “The Dark Knight” fame) and Lisa Joy have done everything they can to do the comparison justice, but the two admitted that they encountered quite a lot of challenges in creating the new series.

“Nothing good is easy,” Nolan told Vulture. “HBO is holding themselves to a high standard. But they didn’t have to encourage us to be ambitious. We were ambitious from the beginning.”

Nolan and Joy tried to keep the series from being a cheesy Western remake and make it interesting enough to encourage millions of viewers to tune in every week. Due to this, a lot of pressure has been attached to the show’s first season.

“The first season of a show is always hard,” said Nolan. “You’re making costumes. You’re composing music. Nothing is done. Everything is being done.”

Meanwhile, the show already drew criticism due to a rape scene in the pilot episode. Joy told the L.A. Times that it was important for them to incorporate sexual violence into the show because it has “sadly been a fact of human history since the beginning of human history.”

“Sexual violence, not only for me but for everybody on our team, is an issue that we take seriously. It’s extraordinarily disturbing and horrifying. In its portrayal we really endeavored for it to not be about the fetishization of those acts,” she explained. “It is about exploring the crime and establishing the crime, and the torment of the characters within this story. And exploring their stories, hopefully with dignity and depth.”

“Westworld” will be released on HBO on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m., reported Variety. It will star Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, and many others.

Westworld
James Marsden and Evan Rachel Wood in a scene from HBO's "Westworld." HBO
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