‘Westworld’ Spoilers: Is The Theme Park Located In A Different Planet? Jonathan Nolan Addresses Speculation

Where exactly is Westworld located? The show hasn’t been very specific about its location and has so far only dropped clues here and there as to its whereabouts.

Fans have noticed that the park is so huge that employees need to live onsite, while guests reach the park using an extremely fast and modern train. In the episode “The Stray,” fans further learned that park employees communicate with loved ones using computer terminals, therefore implying that wherever Westworld might be, it’s definitely far, far away.

A popular fan theory has developed that Westworld is located in another planet. When asked about it, show creator Jonathan Nolan said it was the same question he asked after seeing Michael Crichton’s 1973 film.

“In my memory I was conflated that hovercraft sequence when they arrive in the park with the space-hotel with 2001. And I said to J.J. [Abrams], ‘Is that park even on this planet?’” he said, according to Slash Film. “The important thing for us was, when you come to the series you have no idea where you are. Disneyland is in a parking lot in Anaheim, but it’s spectacular and you forget where you are when you’re inside.”

His wife and co-creator Lisa Joy added, “Regardless of where they are, the park is very, very vast, and you don’t rotate home often. You don’t have open communication where you can just pick up a phone.”

Meanwhile, Nolan also debunked another theory that the show’s setting will change in Season 2. In the original film, Westworld was just one of the three theme parks guests could visit, with the other two being Roman World and Medieval World.

So when Nolan was asked about it during New York Comic Con, he put the rumors to rest. “You said Roman World and Medieval World, right? No,” he said,

“There were a handful of things that we weren’t able to touch in the first season; we’re now currently breaking the second season,” he added. “One of the really nice things about TV is, you get to go again.”

The show’s next episode is entitled “Dissonance Theory.” In the trailer for the upcoming episode, Ben Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) teases Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) with the thing she desires above all else — her freedom.

“There’s something I’d like you to try. It’s a game - a maze. The goal is to find the center of it. If you can do that, then maybe you can be free,” he told her.

Dolores mechanically replies, “I think I want to be free.”

“Westworld” airs every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.