Netflix sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror has revealed its latest project: a movie entitled ‘Bandersnatch’, which now has its own entry in the catalog of shows.
A quickly deleted tweet on Netflix’s @NXOnNetflix Twitter account (which focuses on the streaming service’s sci-fi content) listed new releases for U.S. audiences over the festive season.
At the bottom of the list, Dec. 28 was given as the launch date for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Whether this is going to be the start of the fifth series proper, or just a one-off special, is just the start of the unanswered questions we have about Bandersnatch.
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Now, there’s a Netflix page for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which also calls it a Netflix movie, featuring a 90-minute running time, and the cryptic description of “Be right back.” This could just be a placeholder message for people arriving too early for the grand opening, but that’s not nearly as fun as speculating what it could mean in terms of the story.
Additionally, this could be the long-rumoured interactive episode of Black Mirror. New on Netflix’s report showed the run time as five hours and 12 minutes, potentially the full length of all available story choices.
Netflix has already tried this format out with some of its Kids content, such as the recent Minecraft: Story Mode. If we’re lucky, this will be the first one aimed at an adult audience.
Literary fans may recognize the bandersnatch from Lewis Carroll’s works The Jabberwocky, Through the Looking-Glass and The Hunting of the Snark.
Described as a long-necked beast with snapping jaws, and also as ‘frumious’, we dread to think what kind of technology-related monstrosity the producers have come up with to reflect the name’s strange origins. We'll have to wait until the 28th to see what's in store.