Charlie Brooker has revealed that he won’t release any more interactive Black Mirror episodes.
Last week saw the release of Bandersnatch, a choose-your-own adventure that allowed viewers to drive the plot. These choices ranged from trivial decisions such as what cereal Stefan should eat for breakfast or what music he should listen to on the bus to potentially life-altering picks that’ll change the course of ending.
The episode has divided fans and now Brooker has told fans not to expect any more interactive releases from Black Mirror.
“Run away. It’s harder than you think,” Brooker told The New York Times. “We’re doing more optimistic episodes and stories, rather than just dystopian and negative ones. We want to keep the show interesting for us.”
However, Netflix are planning on releasing more interactive projects. Carla Engelbrecht, Netflix’s director of product innovation said: “We do want to take a number of gos at this and see what works for different audiences.
“That’s what we’re engaged in now – what are the other kinds of stories that we can tell and that folks are excited to tell?” she continued. “And continuing to unearth this iceberg of opportunity and see what’s there.”
Meanwhile, Netflix have confirmed that season five will arrive this year. Speaking of the possibility of sequel episodes, Brooker said he would be open to returning to the stories featured in season two’s White Bear and season three’s San Junipero.
“That was something we discussed at the time, as a potential expansion of the story,” he explained. “What if she becomes aware that this is going on, and starts rebelling against it?” he said of White Bear, while San Junipero would focus on new characters.
“We’re very happy with where [Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw)] ended up,” he said.
“But that’s not to say that we couldn’t revisit that world,” he added, “if there was a compelling reason to do so.”