New choose-your-own-adventure Black Mirror film expected by year-end
The project will fittingly build on the technological capabilities delivered in previous interactive titles
TL;DR
- Multiple sources are expecting Netflix to release a Black Mirror film this week, entitled “Bandersnatch”
- With a run time of over five hours, the title will purportedly be released in a choose-your-own-adventure format, with the user controlling the narrative
- The movie is directed by David Slade (Breaking Bad, Hannibal) and features Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk)
- A dedicated landing page has already been created on the Netflix UI (see below)
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The choose-your-own-adventure format periodically puts the user in control, prompting them to use their remotes to determine the next event in the narrative.
Netflix has had interactive content in the works for the past few years now. In 2016, it experimented minimally with the format in Kong: King of the Apes, but only solidified interest in the following year with Puss in Book.
While children’s content is relatively straightforward with simple plot lines, more complex narratives, especially those of Black Mirror, could exponentially increase users’ time spent. As viewers may want to exhaust all possible storylines, this would essentially redefine the idea of “binge-watching.”
The plot lines chosen could also present interesting insights into the types of content that viewers enjoy most (ie. Happy endings) that can be used to fuel future creative and licensing decisions. As a series that often leaves the viewer feeling uncomfortable or uneasy, Black Mirror’s option to resolve the storyline could increase the accessibility of the content — or somehow make it more delightfully bizarre. Further, leveraging innovative technology to put the user in control of a series based on the blunders of the very same could be brilliantly meta.
And think about the production side! Writing, directing, acting and editing so many different plot scenarios could be a huge endeavour to undertake. Albeit, an exciting one.
Many reports suggest that the sheer amount of content sitting behind paywalls is bringing about a resurgence in bootlegging. But trying to feasibly bootleg a film with x amount of different plots could become pretty tedious. This could shape up to make interactive content a compelling differentiator for Netflix, as if it even needed another.
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