There was a time when Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror could be accurately labelled a dystopian sci-fi anthology series, with each season comprising a tech-infused set of cautionary tales about a world frighteningly close to our own. At this point, Black Mirror often feels more like a dramatised docuseries, offering a prophetic glimpse at next week's headline news. And with Black Mirror Season 7 just weeks away from making its Netflix premiere, Brooker and co look set to deliver another standout series of different flavoured fables to make us wince, wonder, and question our essential humanity. From a hotly anticipated 'USS Callister' sequel, to an unexpected Bandersnatch follow-up, and much more besides, the full trailer for the season ahead has pretty much got it all. And you can check it out below;
Augmented reality? Check. Artificial intelligence? Check. Cyborgs, spaceships, and Issa Rae and Emma Corrin starring black-and-white Hollywood romances? Check, check, and check again. Yeah, we're thinking Black Mirror is back! As it gets harder and harder for Brooker and his team to keep ahead of the dystopian reality of the present day, this latest season of the show looks like it's set to push the genre envelope further and in more unexpected ways than before. Here we see Paul Giamatti using a familiar-looking bit of temple-connected kit (devised, we think, by a distinctly serial killer looking, long-haired Peter Capaldi) to seemingly enter his own past; the aforementioned Rae and Corrin appear as two time-crossed actresses from Hollywood's Golden Age and present day in a glimpse at 'San Junipero' angled heartstring tugger 'Hotel Reverie'; the return of Will Poulter's enigmatic programming guru Colin Ritman from Bandersnatch with a new scheme that seems destined to royally eff up video game designer Lewis Gribben's life; and, of course, the reintroduction of Cristin Milioti's computer programmer/starship captain Nanette Cole and her crew in the eagerly awaited follow-up to fan-favourite episode 'USS Callister'. In other words, there is a lot to take in — and this is just the teaser!
Now, how exactly each of these stories will play out, whether they share any connection at all (this 'Redream' AR device looks like it could spread across multiple stories to us), and what we can expect from this latest run of episodes' veritable constellation of guest stars all very much remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure: when Black Mirror Season 7 arrives on Netflix on 10 April, our eyes will be glued to the screen for whatever fresh tech hells — and fleeting electric heavens — Brooker brings our way.