Netflix released the first trailer forBlack Mirror: Bandersnatch, an original movie that will premiere on the streaming video service on Friday, December 28.
The trailer was released just a day before the full-length feature’s debut on Netflix, and unlike the release of most trailers, it arrived with little advance warning or promotion — possibly in keeping with the atmosphere of mystery pervading the series that spawned it,Black Mirror.
Directed by David Slade (Hannibal,American Gods),Black Mirror: Bandersnatchis set in 1984 and follows a computer programmer who’s tasked with turning a fantasy novel into a video game, only to have the boundaries between fantasy and reality begin to blur around him as the project develops.Early rumorshave suggested that the film might offer some “choose your own adventure”-style interactive element, but nothing has been confirmed along those lines.
In front of the camera, the cast ofBandersnatchincludesDunkirkactor Fionn Whitehead as the film’s programmer protagonist, along with Will Poulter(Maze Runner)and Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing). The trailer also offers a blink-and-you-miss-it reference to Slade’s previous directorial contribution to theBlack Mirrorseries, the season 4 episodeMetalhead, courtesy of a poster for a game titled “METL HEDD” that appears in the background of a scene. Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s 1984 songRelaxalso features prominently in the trailer.
Anyone familiar with Lewis Carroll’s 1871 sequel toAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland, titledThrough the Looking Glass, will likely be familiar with the creature referenced in the film’s title, the Bandersnatch. In the novel, the Bandersnatch was described as a terrifying, toothy beast with frightening speed, and was also referenced in the poemJabberwocky. (“Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!”)
A sci-fi anthology series that features stand-alone tales chronicling the terrifying possibilities of technology and a society obsessed with it,Black Mirrorhasreceived critical acclaimover the course of its first four seasons, winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for episodes in its third and fourth seasons. Originally broadcast on Channel 4 in the U.K., the series gained considerable attention when Netflix acquired it, added it to its streaming library, and then commissioned an additional two seasons —soon to be three.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatchisn’t considered part of the upcoming fifth season ofBlack Mirror, which has yet to receive an official release date.
