Bandersnatch isn’t a part of the new series
You’ve probably seen it by now, but Netflix’s latest special ‘Bandersnatch’ is taking the internet by storm.
It’s a choose your own adventure interactive film in which you steer the protagonist – amateur game designer Stefan – one way or the other on his quest to develop the game the episode is named after.
If you have seen it, here are two handy flow charts to help you make sense of it all, and track the scenes and endings you might not have seen.
And, bonus round, here’s a parody in which you play out a similar game as the hapless Arsenal defence. Why? Because, that’s why.
Anyway, the good news here is that ‘Bandersnatch’ isn’t actually part of the fifth season of Black Mirror, but instead a standalone feature. That means a whole host of new dystopian nightmares are coming our way, courtesy of Netflix, sometime during 2019.
BuzzFeed TV editor Scott Bryan confirmed the news on Twitter, stating “Netflix has told me that the fifth season of Black Mirror is still to come in 2019″.
“‘Bandersnatch’ was not the fifth season, but a standalone interactive film, in case you were wondering,” he added.
Some initial reports – including one from the New York Times of all places – claimed the special was the fifth season in its entirety.
Netflix has told me that the fifth season of Black Mirror is still to come in 2019. Bandersnatch was not the fifth season, but a standalone interactive film, in case you were wondering.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) December 29, 2018
For example pic.twitter.com/o7JzunQwmN
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) December 29, 2018
The bad news is that sums up about we all know so far. Other than the rumour that Miley Cyrus is set to star in one of the new episodes, which could swing your interest either way, there is nothing new to add. Charlie Brooker will continue to stay quieter than Johnny Tightlips to avoid any spoilers surfacing, and if you don’t get that reference you probably don’t deserve Black Mirror anyway.
Here’s one prediction, however, to end on: There will be one episode that centres around someone witnessing a murder or kidnapping that takes place live on an Instagram or Snapchat story.
Intriguing, isn’t it?
Charlie, if you’re reading… give me a call.
