- "Westworld" co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy faked out everyone with a spoiler video.
- Following their AMA on Monday, they said they'd released a full summary of season two.
- When the video came, it was an elaborate Rick Roll on the Redditors.
- You can watch the 25-minute joke "spoiler" video below.
After whipping "Westworld" fans (and TV reporters) into a frenzy on Monday afternoon by saying they'd release a full spoilery summary of the coming second season, it turns out co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were playing an elaborate joke on us all.
The video link arrived on the "Westworld" subreddit as promised, but it was a fake-out.
It opens with Jeffrey Wright, the actor who plays Bernard, narrating a plausible opening set up for the second season. But as his character gets into the town of Sweetwater and sees Dolores (played by Evan Rachel Wood), the video switches tone.
Suddenly Angela Sarafyan (Clementine) is playing Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" on piano while Wood sings along to the iconically memed track.
Redditors kept up the gambit for a bit by upvoting comments that made it seem as if the video was real. But anyone who risked clicking through was instead quickly shamed into realizing it was all a joke.
After a chorus and verse of the song, a title card appears:
"Dear Reddit,
From all of us here at Westworld, thank you for watching.
We hope you enjoy season two..."
The remaining 21 minutes of video show a loop of a dog sitting on a piano bench while the theme song plays. A final title card appears at the end: "For Bento, 2009 — 2018."
Nolan has been building up to this gambit for well over a year. At the 2017 Paleyfest, Vanity Fair reported that Nolan hinted at a plan to thwart Redditors from solving every twist and turn in advance. At SXSW, IGN also reported Nolan discussing a "controversial" plan to avoid having the season spoiled.
Turns out this was likely just part of a long con to trick people into thinking Nolan and Joy were about the completely up-end TV spoiler culture as we knew it. Instead, we got a Rick Roll.
Watch the full video below. The second season of "Westworld" premieres Sunday, April 22. Catch up with 19 major details you might have missed in the latest trailer here.
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SEE ALSO: 19 important details you might have missed in the new 'Westworld' season 2 trailer
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