Though Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was removed from Netflix earlier this year as part of the streamer’s pivot away from interactive programming, there may be yet another chance to choose Stefan Butler’s ’80s video game creation adventure anew. According to Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, a comeback may be on the horizon.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Brooker was asked about rumblings that Bandersnatch may return to Netflix soon, perhaps classified as a game this time around.
“Reports of its death were exaggerated. Watch this space, things are brewing,” Brooker told THR. “It’s not gone. I think over time, all these things are going to slightly merge.”
By “these things,” he seemingly means narrative programming and games, because he then went on to talk about “Plaything,” an episode from the most recent Black Mirror season. It’s about Thronglets, a video game that aims to take over the world, and Netflix released a tie-in game to go with it.
“It’s a ’90s game like the one you see in the episode, but it goes way further than we do in the show. There are bespoke video clips you can unlock,” Brooker said. “I used to be a video games journalist and I still play lots of games, so I’m thrilled by anything like that. I think you’ll see more and more of that.”
“Plaything” also ties back to Bandersnatch, with Will Poulter reprising his mad-genius character Colin Ritman.
“Will Poulter showing up as a living Easter egg showed me that we can continue to break the format to bring back characters or revisit worlds,” Brooker said. “Bandersnatch was also executed seamlessly by the Netflix engineers. It was very accessible to people. It was startling how well it worked, it felt like a bit of a magic trick.”
The creator is also open to doing more interactive episodes of Black Mirror down the line. “I had a whole idea for an interactive sequel to Bandersnatch. The interactive form generally is something I wouldn’t rule out for the future, because I’d have to be crazy to rule that out,” he said. “You need a good narrative reason for why it’s happening within the story, because it’s such a different hat you’re wearing as a viewer when you’re playing a game versus sitting back and absorbing and getting lost in a story.”
Black Mirror seasons one through seven (but not, for now at least, the interactive special Bandersnatch) are streaming on Netflix.
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