HBO recreates Sweetwater for an immersive Westworld experience at SXSW

HBO is making the dreams of Westworld fans come true at SXSW.

The company has built a replica of the show’s Wild West Sweetwater town in order to promote the second series of the hit science fiction drama.

The #Westworld activation at #SXSW has now closed.
The park re-opens tomorrow at 2:00PM. pic.twitter.com/fRc95uHiUa

— Westworld (@WestworldHBO) March 10, 2018

Those who have purchased tickets will get an immersive taste of the show to interact with actors posing as hosts, experience a number of Western-themed food and drinks, and solve mysteries based upon the show.

They’ll also get to visit locations from the series within the town of Sweetwater, including Mariposa Saloon and the Coronado hotel.

In addition to the premium experience, those attending the film and TV portion of SXSW will get their chance to see a panel with the cast and creators.

About to head into the #Westworld experience at #sxsw pic.twitter.com/5KGkSWnqg5

— Matt Navarra @ #SXSW ? (@MattNavarra) March 9, 2018

HBO says production for the project started in November of last year, and it took a 40-person crew five weeks to build the sci-fi park.

The cast playing Westworld robotic hosts, had to learn a script that came in at 444 pages.

“The theme of Westworld and the idea of it is that it is actually immersive entertainment,” said Steven Cardwell, director of program marketing at HBO.

“To us, it seemed like a no-brainer to build and extend that story narrative to the real world.”

 

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