In a matter of weeks, HBO’s TV series reinvention of Michael Crichton’s classic 1970s film “Westworld” has become one of the hottest small screen projects in development.

The sheer amount of talent attached to the Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy-scripted project is astonishing – Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Evan Rachel Wood, Miranda Otto, and Rodrigo Santoro and more have all signed onboard.

So what is it about this story of adult amusement park populated by lifelike robots that’s not just drawing them in but getting them to sign multiyear deals? The Live Feed may have found one answer.

According to their sources, the androids in the film can be killed off and return with completely different personas. As a result, actors are allowed to play many characters in the same season.

HBO programming president Michael Lombardo says: “This is built as a series and, in terms of storytelling, I think the rules are definitely being broken. The promise of the show, in terms of where it’s going, is exciting to actors, and they want to be a part of this.”

The project is currently filming its pilot in Los Angeles as it awaits word on a pickup, something that seems almost a certainty at this point.