'Black Mirror' Season 5 Release Date Won't Mean a 'USS Callister' Sequel

Fans of Black Mirror are eager for an update on the Netflix show’s Season 5 release date, but unfortunately we still have no idea when the show will return. However, there is some good news, especially for fans of the popular Season 4 episode, “USS. Callister.” Creator Charlie Brooker is already thinking about a spinoff, and he’s got some interesting ideas.

At least, that’s what Jimmi Simpson, who plays Walton in the Star Trek-inspired Black Mirror episode, told The Wrap.

“I will say, unofficially, that was — we’ve always talked about it,” he said, though he’s “not holding” Brooker to his “f—king awesome” spinoff ideas. “He said that it’s his favorite episode and he just wants it to live on.”

Would Simpson be open to returning to the Black Mirror world in a possible “U.S.S. Callister” spinoff?

“F—k yeah, I’m there,” he said.

But don’t expect any potential continuation to be part of Black Mirror Season 5. The next batch of episodes, expected this year, won’t feature a return to the USS Callister, or Simpson in any other role on the show.

The 2018 Emmy wins for “USS Callister” included for Outstanding Television Movie, which *Black Mirror” also won the previous year for “San Junipero.” Both episodes featured a happy ending, at least by the show’s grim standards.

This isn’t the first time that someone from the Netflix series has spoken about a potential spinoff. Brooker gave a “never say never” answer regarding a spinoff series to Variety after the 2018 Emmys in September 2018.

Prior to that, he and co-showrunner Annabel Jones acknowledged that the episode was probably the best one from Black Mirror to make into a sequel.

“Because we haven’t ever done a sequel, it would have to feel as if we’re bringing something new to it,” Jones told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2018.

“The ending scene almost plays like it’s taunting you [for a sequel] because they end up in a universe of infinite possibilities, and there’s a lot of question marks we’ve left hanging,” Brooker added.

He also said in the same interview that they aim “to do things that are markedly different from what we’ve done before” with every season. That could explain why there won’t be a spinoff just yet — or why they may consider doing one in a future season.

For now, all we can do is wait for more news, about Black Mirror Season 5’s release date and a potential “USS Callister” spinoff.

Black Mirror Seasons 1-4 and Bandersnatch are now streaming on Netflix.

Related video: Black Mirror — “U.S.S. Callister” Official Trailer