It turns out we may have Westworld to thank for arguably one of Black Mirror's greatest outings, 'San Junipero'.
The season 3 episode proved one of the most uplifting and emotional takes in the otherwise bleak and dystopian Netflix series, giving us a futuristic and unique take on the afterlife.
In it, we see the blossoming relationship between Yorkie and Kelly in a simulated alternative reality, which real-life elderly people can inhabit even in death.
However, according to creator Charlie Brooker and executive producer Annabel Jones, the original plan for the episode was much darker and more akin to HBO's Westworld, though it was scrapped due to some striking similarities.
"I'd been obsessed with doing a story about the afterlife," Brooker says in book Inside Black Mirror (via Vulture). "I wanted to do a sort of supernatural story, and was thinking of spooky, creepy story ideas. So, weirdly, 'San Junipero' had started in a sort of horror-movie world."
"We always have a scientific explanation for things, even if it's bollocks!" Jones adds. "We introduced the idea of digital consciousness in 'White Christmas,' but hadn't really explored the moral or emotional implications. There was so much untapped potential."
Brooker expands: "Something else that we'd discussed was a way of expanding the world of [season 2 episode] 'Be Right Back.' We couldn't do this now because of Westworld, but we had the idea of a theme park you went to that was essentially Heaven."
Westworld is set in a futuristic theme park in which hosts serve the guests and can be brought back from the dead repeatedly.
"All your dead relatives and friends would be there, and you'd pay to go and visit them," Brooker added of his Westworld-like 'San Junipero' idea. "So that thought stayed around for a while - this notion of Heaven that you go to as a holiday."
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
