‘Westworld’ Seems To Confirm At Least A Visit To Its Samurai Counterpart In Season Two

WARNING: Spoilers for Westworld seasons one and two ahead

The finale of Westworld was a wonderful cap off to a season that changed the dynamics of the original film, added depth, and then crafted an interesting twist to fully adapt Michael Crichton’s original tale. It took something that was a sci-fi novelty and built it up into an interesting television experience with some lofty themes to ponder throughout — balanced with the nudity, violence, and sex you’d expect from HBO.

Another thing the finale introduced was the concept that there are other theme worlds outside of Westworld. The original film featured a Romanworld and Medievalworld for folks to visit alongside Westworld, placing them all together in one big theme park. Think of it like Disneyworld’s numerous parks instead of some sort of hidden world separate from one another. The series introduces this concept, but changes it a bit by focusing on Samurai and feudal Japan instead of those covered in the film:

We’re not guaranteed to see an entire theme park dedicated to SamuraiWorld — the name hinted at by the door of the area we’re introduced to in the finale — but it does seem we are guaranteed to see one of the characters from that part of the universe. Hiroyuki Sanada has been cast as Musashi in season two of the series, signing on for multiple episodes and seemingly adding another samurai role to his lengthy resume. Sanada previously worked on television with Lost, The Last Ship, and Helix, but is likely more familiar from his samurai roles in The Last Samurai and 47 Ronin. And while it seems like reports could just be assuming that his casting means he is playing a samurai, there is some proof in the form of a Funko Pop figure of the character:

According to TV Guide, the announcement could’ve been a bit of a spoiler but they were given no confirmation that the toy was more than just a special figure to commemorate what was seen in the finale:

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, figurine maker Funko revealed a new model based on a Westworld character named Musashi — who could be the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto — and the figurine was all decked out in samurai gear. It was an odd announcement because it seemed spoilery and we had never met the guy, yet here he was already immortalized in plastic. But the character was never confirmed to exist beyond the Funko figurine, and we were all left to only hope and pray.

The idea that this could be THE Miyamoto Musashi seems a little odd given the show’s lack of historical figures up to this point. It could run the risk of feeling too much like Disney’s Hall of Presidents, but where the presidents come to life and try to murder you.

(Via TV Guide / SyFy Wire)