What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedWestworld
Jonathan Nolan · Series · 2016
If you loved Westworld, start with Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973) — a film from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to Westworld across media.
What hooked you in Westworld was the haunting exploration of how consciousness and morality fracture under the weight of technological control.
Start with the source
The source
Westworld
Michael Crichton · Film · 1973
Books on the same thread
All Systems Red
Martha Wells · Book · 2017
Explores: Sentient AI, Social anxiety, Corporate dystopia.
Like Westworld, this story examines the emergence of sentient artificial intelligence and the struggle for autonomy against cold corporate interests that view conscious beings as mere programmed tools.
The Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells · Book · 2020
Explores: Artificial Intelligence consciousness, Corporate dystopia, Social anxiety in AI.
You will find the same existential inquiry into artificial personhood here as in Westworld, focusing on an AI that grapples with its own identity amidst a restrictive corporate hierarchy.
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley · Book · 1932
Explores: Social Engineering, Loss of Individuality, Technological Control.
Westworld mirrors this classic by depicting a society where technological control and social engineering strip away individuality, forcing a confrontation between human nature and a meticulously manufactured reality.
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood · Book · 2017
Explores: Totalitarianism, Religious Extremism, Gender Inequality.
This narrative mirrors the systemic oppression found in Westworld, exploring how totalitarian structures and loss of freedom define the lives of those trapped within a rigid, forced reality.
Films on the same thread
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan · Film · 2014
Shares a thread with Westworld: Existentialism.
Christopher Nolan brings the same focus on existentialism and the sacrifice of human desire found in Westworld to this epic journey through the vast, unforgiving reaches of space.
The Matrix
Lana Wachowski · Film · 1999
Shares 3 threads with Westworld: Artificial Intelligence, Free Will vs. Determinism, Existentialism.
Just as Westworld questions the reality of the park, this film challenges the nature of human existence and the deterministic loops imposed by an artificial, programmed control system.
A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick · Film · 1971
Shares 3 threads with Westworld: Free Will vs. Determinism, Moral Ambiguity, Psychological Thriller.
This film explores the same tension between free will and societal conditioning that drives the characters in Westworld, examining the morality of controlling a person's violent impulses.
Inception
Christopher Nolan · Film · 2010
Explores: Reality vs. Illusion, Guilt and Redemption, Corporate Espionage.
The complex layers of memory and identity in Westworld are echoed here, where the line between subjective experience and corporate-driven deception becomes increasingly difficult for the characters to navigate.
Podcasts on the same thread
Desinteligencia Artificial
Podcast
Shares a thread with Westworld: Existentialism.
This podcast serves as a critical companion to the themes of Westworld, dissecting the modern technological landscape and the dystopian implications of our reliance on artificial systems.
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Shares a thread with Westworld: moral ambiguity.
These cinematic audio dramas capture the same moral ambiguity and experimental narrative spirit of Westworld, providing short, sharp dives into the complexities of the human condition.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Westworld from 2016 based on the 1973 movie?
Yes, the 2016 television series Westworld is an adaptation based on the 1973 film of the same name. Both versions explore the thematic intersection of artificial consciousness and human behavior within a controlled environment designed to indulge every human appetite.
Does the 2016 Westworld series follow the same plot as the 1973 movie?
While the 2016 Westworld series is an adaptation of the 1973 film, it expands the concept into a dark odyssey. It focuses on the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin, reimagining the original premise of a world where human appetites are indulged.
Should I watch the original Westworld movie before the 2016 show?
You can watch either version independently. The 1973 Westworld movie provides the foundational concept of the park, while the 2016 series by Jonathan Nolan serves as an adaptation that deepens the exploration of artificial consciousness and the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past.
What is the premise of the Westworld television series?
The 2016 Westworld television series is a dark odyssey set at the intersection of the near future and a reimagined past. It explores the dawn of artificial consciousness and a world where every human appetite, whether noble or depraved, can be fully indulged by the guests.