Black Mirror is a British science-fiction anthology television series created by English writer Charlie Brooker and his co-showrunner Annabel Jones. Premiering in 2011, each episode explores a different story about technology in the near future, often within a dystopian context. The stories are usually dark and/or satirical in tone.
There are currently 22 episodes of Black Mirror, along with an interactive film entitled Bandersnatch. Between the five seasons, film, and Christmas special, many well-known celebrities have taken part in Black Mirror episodes over the years. This includes multiple MCU actors, both before and after their first appearances in the MCU. For those MCU fans who haven't seen Black Mirror, these episodes featuring familiar faces might be a good place to start getting into the series.
There have been so many Marvel stars in Black Mirror that this article cannot cover them all in detail. Along with the episodes mentioned below, the following MCU actors can be seen in these episodes: Lenora Crichlow in "White Bear," Alice Eve in "Nosedive," Benedict Wong in "Hated in the Nation," and Anjourie Rice in "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too."
Fifteen Million Merits
One of the earliest episodes of the show, "Fifteen Million Merits" stars a young Daniel Kaluuya years before he would appear in Black Panther. This episode takes place in a dystopian world where everything has a price, and the working class must pedal exercise bikes for power day in and day out in order to earn money, or "merits."
Kaluuya plays a disillusioned pedaler who falls for a woman (played by Jessica Brown Findlay) and convinces her to go on a talent show, giving her most of his merits in order to do so. However, things don't go exactly as planned. The episode features commentary on capitalism, fame, and virtual reality, with a fantastic performance by Kaluuya.
Be Right Back
This episode stars Agent Peggy Carter herself, Hayley Atwell. Atwell plays a women whose husband, played by Star Wars' Domhnall Gleeson, dies suddenly in a car accident. Hoping to help her deal with her grief, her friend signs her up for a software that uses her husband's social media accounts and other public posts and videos to mimic him, so that she can speak to a version of him even in death.
She is hesitant to use it until she discovers she's pregnant, and turns to the software heartbroken. It ends up going further than she could have imagined. This heart-wrenching episode focuses on themes of grief and of humanity, as well as exploring how we present ourselves on social media.
Playtest
"Playtest" stars Wyatt Russell, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's John Walker himself. However, he isn't the only MCU star in the episode; Ant-Man and the Wasp's Hannah John-Kamen and Loki's Wunmi Mosaku are also featured in this psychological horror. Russell plays a man who playtests an upcoming augmented reality game.
The game is a horror game that accesses his brain and targets his own fears. This is one of the darker and scarier episodes of the series. The performances are fantastic all around, but it's really Russell who carries this frightening episode.
San Junipero
"San Junipero" is probably one of the most well-known Black Mirror episodes, blowing up within the LGBTQ community upon its release on Netflix. Mackenzie Davis plays a shy young woman who becomes infatuated with the outgoing Kelly, played by Loki's Gugu Mbatha-Raw, in a 1980s nightclub.
The nightclub is soon revealed to be in a beach resort town that is part of a simulated reality that people can inhabit, even in death. The two women have a connection, but things are more complicated than they appear. "San Junipero" is one of the relatively happier episodes of Black Mirror, still exploring themes like death, love, and reality.
Black Museum
An episode that deviates somewhat from the normal episode format, "Black Museum" stars Black Panther's Letitia Wright. Wright plays a woman who visits the Black Museum, a museum in the middle of the desert that displays mostly strange and experimental technologies.
The owner of the museum telling her the stories of three of the exhibits serves as the framing device of the episode, which is otherwise broken up into the three stories he tells. "Black Museum" includes references to previous episodes in Black Mirror in the other exhibits in the museum, a special bonus for long-time fans. A divisive episode, Wright has nevertheless been praised for her performance.
Striking Vipers
Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson in the MCU, is the star of this more recent Black Mirror episode. Mackie plays Danny, a man who reconnects with one of his childhood friends, played by Watchmen's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The two bond over an advanced virtual reality fighting game. As they get closer in the game, it starts to impact Danny's relationship with his wife, who is played by Sleepy Hollow's Nicole Beharie.
The episode deals with issues of identity, fluidity, infidelity, and virtual reality. Fans of fighting video games like Mortal Kombat will likely enjoy the references and nods in this episode as well.
Black Mirror is available for streaming on Netflix.