Netflix drops release date, trailer for "Black Mirror" movie "Bandersnatch"

By Andrea Park

/ CBS News

It's official: "Bandersnatch" is coming. Less than a month after accidentally tweeting then deleting an announcement for "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch," Netflix has dropped the trailer for the standalone "Black Mirror" movie.

Finn Whitehead of "Dunkirk" stars in the movie as a young man adapting a fantasy novel into a video game. Netflix says in its logline for the film, "In 1984, a young programmer begins to question reality as he adapts a sprawling fantasy novel into a video game and soon faces a mind-mangling challenge."

The trailer opens with Whitehead's character saying, "I keep having these vivid dreams, like thinking weird things."

His character describes the video game he's creating. "'Bandersnatch.' It's an adventure game based on the book," he says. Later, Whitehead's character says of the fictional author of "Bandersnatch," "Jerome F. Davies is a genius." ("Bandersnatch" is also the name of a creature with a long neck and snapping jaws from Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass.")

His colleague is heard telling him, "When it's a concept piece, a bit of madness is what you need." Viewers see Whitehead's character flush his medications away.

"Change your life. Change your past. Your present. Your future," reads the text in the trailer.

Earlier this month, Netflix reportedly tweeted then deleted an announcement that "Bandersnatch" would drop on Friday, December 28. The release date has stayed the same, which means fans only have to wait a day to watch the movie.

It's been a year since Netflix dropped Season 4 of the sci-fi anthology series. Recently, Miley Cyrus seemed to confirm on Howard Stern's XM radio show that she has a role in Season 5 of the dystopian sci-fi series. It's unclear when Season 5 will be released.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix by Netflix on YouTube

First published on December 27, 2018

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Andrea Park

Andrea is an entertainment producer at CBSNews.com

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