‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ Page Goes Live on Netflix and It’s a Movie, Reportedly Has Five Hours of Footage
Zack Sharf
“Black Mirror” Season 5 might not be debuting on Netflix before the end of 2018, but it’s become increasingly clear that “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” probably will, and it’s most likely happening on December 28. What is “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch”? A Netflix social media leak at the beginning of December suggested it could be the first episode of Seasn 5, but a new report from The Independent (via Esquire) reveals it’s a “Black Mirror” movie, which would be the first of its kind.
While Netflix will not confirm “Bandersnatch,” Esquire made note that an online Netflix page already exists for the title and labels it a “Netflix film.” Any Netflix subscriber can search for “Bandersnatch” on the streaming platform and be directed to this landing page, which confirms it’s not an episode but a film (see photo below). The leak at the start of the month said “Bandersnatch” would drop December 28, which lines up with the end-of-the-year release of “Black Mirror” Season 4 in 2017. The landing page does not confirm December 28 but it does say 2018.
The latest reported details on “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” are the most clear-cut yet. The movie’s alleged official plot description reads: “A young programmer makes a fantasy novel into a game. Soon, reality and virtual world are mixed and start to create confusion.” That “Bandersnatch” would be set in the world of video games lines up with recent fan theories, as “Bandersnatch” was the name of a video game listed in the Season 3 episode “Playtest,” directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Wyatt Russell. Additionally, “Bandersnatch” was a video game developed in real life by Imagine Software in 1984, but it was never released to the public.
In addition to the plot description, The Independent reports “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” is directed by David Slade and stars “Dunkirk” breakout Fionn Whitehead in the lead role. Slade is already a member of the “Black Mirror” franchise, having directed the Season 4 episode “Metalhead.” Slade’s film credits include “Hard Candy” and “30 Days of Nights,” and he has also directed episodes of “Breaking Bad,” “Hannibal,” and “American Gods.”
The most interesting new detail is that “Bandersnatch” reportedly has 312 minutes of footage, which is over five hours. A huge number like that would be ridiculously long for a feature film, but it would make sense given reports that “Black Mirror” is planning a choose-your-own adventure storyline. News first broke on an interactive “Black Mirror” episode in October, and the 312 minute “Bandersnatch” runtime suggests it’s a choose-your-own-adventure movie.
As previously noted, Netflix has not confirmed these details, nor have they released any concrete information about “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” outside of its official online landing page. Expect every “Black Mirror” fan to be waiting in front of the television December 28.
