The upcoming sci-fi drama on HBO "Westworld" is drawing many well-known actors to the small screen. However, the ensemble cast might look a bit different in character-many of them are filling roles of robots.

The series, based on a 1973 film by Michael Crichton, was written for television by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.

The pilot features Anthony Hopkins as an inventor who manages an amusement park, Westworld, which is filled with robots in Hopkins' first series-regular role. Dr. Robert Ford (Hopkins) is the chief programmer and chairman of the board for Westworld, "who has an uncompromising creative vision for the park-and unorthodox methods of achieving it," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Evan Rachel Wood is set to play Dolores Abernathy, a blissfully ignorant farm girl who visits the adult amusement park.

The show is billed as "a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin." Also among the cast members are James Marsden, Thandie Newton and Ed Harris. Part of the premise of "Westworld" is that the robotic characters can be killed off yet return to life with completely different personalities. This allows actors to play multiple characters within the same season, which is part of the reasoning behind the "Westworld" actors signing multiyear deals.

"This is built as a series and, in terms of storytelling, I think the rules are definitely being broken," Michael Lombardo, HBO programming president, said. "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 sci-fi Westen filmed its pilot in August in Los Angeles and has yet to be scheduled for pickup. However, with its stellar cast and the fact that it has J.J. Abrams listed as one of its executive producers, the announcement is expected soon.