The AI apocalypse is primed for an explosive launch in the Black Mirror season 7 trailer, which previews a bloody, bombastic batch of six new episodes — including the return of Cristin Milioti (The Penguin) in a sequel to 2017’s epic “USS Callister” episode.
Netflix revealed Thursday the first preview of Charlie Brooker‘s beloved sci-fi anthology, which welcomes a wealth of stars to its seventh season, including Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Awkwafina, Rashida Jones, Will Poulter, Chris O’Dowd, Emma Corrin, and Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti.
In addition to teasing Milioti’s return alongside fellow “USS Callister” stars Jimmi Simpson, Paul G. Raymond, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile, and Billy Magnussen, the Black Mirror season 7 trailer gives us a glimpse at a few of the new installment’s harrowing episodes.
The footage opens with Jones and O’Dowd sitting side by side before they (and several other characters) interact with a small circular device that appears to trigger a haze in the eyes of its wearer — perhaps an evolution of the Grain technology first seen in the 2011 episode “The Entire History of You.” The device is described in the trailer as “mind-expanding,” and it is revealed that it “alters your neural structure” in a way that makes the mind “a computer.”
Giamatti and Rae are also seen wearing the device in the new footage, with the former jumping into the world of a still photograph, and the latter entering a black-and-white environment alongside Corrin that is populated with emotional AI figures.
Issa Rae in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
“Just remember that they’re AIs,” Awkwafina tells Rae in the clip. “To them, this is real.”
Later, Poulter can be seen having an impassioned conversation with another character in which he advocates for technological advances that, judging by the violent end of the footage, may or may not have dire consequences for all involved.
“We have to create software that elevates us — or else, what is the f—ing point of the tools at our disposal?” Poulter asks.
Chris O’Dowd and Tracee Ellis Ross in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
As for the “USS Callister” sequel, the only other clues about its plot are contained within the episode’s official synopsis, which briefly teases the expansion of the original story.
“Robert Daly is dead,” the description reads, referencing the computer programming character played by Jesse Plemons, who entered a simulated Star Trek–inspired digital world in the 2017 episode. “But the crew of the USS Callister — led by Captain Nanette Cole — find their problems are just beginning.”
Awkwafina in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
The Emmy-winning series has offered a long probe into artificial intelligence, and Brooker addressed modern advancements in technology at SXSW in 2023, where he spoke about tasking ChatGPT with writing a script for Black Mirror.
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“It’s just emulating something,” Brooker said at the time. “It’s Hoovered up every description of every Black Mirror episode, presumably from Wikipedia and other things that people have written, and it’s just sort of vomiting that back at me. It’s pretending to be something it isn’t capable of being.”
Black Mirror season 7 premieres April 10 on Netflix. Watch the new trailer above, and see first-look photos from the new episodes above and below.
Will Poulter in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
Paul Giamatti in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
Emma Corrin in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
Cristin Milioti in the ‘USS Callister’ sequel on ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Netflix
