Black Mirror might return to the world of San Junipero, according to creator Charlie Brooker.
The episode, which aired during the show’s third season, told the story of Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), two women who fall in love in a town called San Junipero, a simulated reality the elderly can inhabit.
It was critically-acclaimed for the chemistry between its two leads, and for the surprisingly uplifting tone in a series usually plagued by tragedy. It won two Emmy Awards and is often regarded as one of the finest episodes in television history.
At Latitude Festival over the weekend, Brooker was questioned on a potential return to San Junipero, to which he responded: “We have discussed [returning to a story]. With San Junipero we – but never say never – wouldn’t return to those characters.
“It feels to us, I think, that we told that story. It felt right to leave them where they were. The world of San Junipero, that backdrop – that’s quite a rich environment for whatever ideas we had that we didn’t use in the end.
“For instance there was a scene originally where Yorkie goes looking for Kelly and discovers Kelly in a kindergarden looking after some kids. Which, later on, when you work out everyone there is dead, becomes a very poignant scene and setting.”
Brooker added: “But it was too strong a flavor to just drop in casually in that story. That’s the sort of thing you could potentially return to. So we occasionally discuss it. We haven’t done it yet but we may do it in the future.”
The fifth season of Black Mirror premiered earlier this year on Netflix to critical acclaim. The series was once again lauded for its inclusion of queer characters in the episode Striking Vipers, which starred Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
