Charlie Brooker talks possible sequel to fan-favourite 'Black Mirror' episode

The third season of Black Mirror had its ups and downs, but one episode stood out above all the others.

‘80s-set ‘San Junipero’, which starred Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis, was described by multiple critics – not to mention fans – as the highlight of the made-for-Netflix revival of the show.

The episode has earned two Primetime Emmy awards – including one for writer Charlie Brooker, and the show’s creator has admitted the idea of a sequel to the episode has come up in conversation.

Black Mirror’s fourth season will air on Netflix later this year, and Brooker has spoken both of potential sequel angles and of a scene which was ultimately left out of the original episode.

“There were aspects of the story that I took out,” Brooker told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month.

“For instance, I’d originally written a scene where Gugu’s character, Kelly, is in a kindergarten and there are children there and when you realize what’s going on, it’s that these are deceased children.

“It was too sad and too poignant of a note to hit in that story, but I kept thinking about how that felt like a whole world in and of itself.”

And he admitted that, while references may be made to the episode in future, he and fellow executive producer Annabel Jones are unlikely to visit lead characters Yorkie and Kelly even if they do return to the San Junipero universe.

“That felt like such a story and we wouldn’t want to open it up again,” Brooker added, while hinting that any sequel, if it did exist, would need to be “in a completely different form” to the original.

Brooker has dropped in easter eggs throughout Black Mirror’s three seasons, including multiple references to Victoria Skillane, the protagonist in the Season 2 episode ‘White Bear’.

It could ultimately be the case that San Junipero only crops up in this format, with Brooker saying: “We do like to drop Easter eggs every so often in other episodes, so we may be referring to San Junipero again.”

Interestingly, the episode has already been referenced in completely unrelated TV series, with a character in Riverdale boarding a bus to San Junipero.

Season 4 of Black Mirror is yet to receive an official release date, though episode titles have already been revealed along with a teaser trailer.