‘Black Mirror’ Adds Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Season 5

Season 5 of Black Mirror will see the arrivals of Captain America: Civil War star Anthony Mackie and Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Deadline reports.

Netflix did not comment on the development to the news outlet, as it has stayed tight-lipped about the upcoming season.

Mackie will be fresh off his lead role of Takeshi Kovacs in the second season of Netflix‘s Altered Carbon, and was last seen in feature films Miss Bala and The Hate U Give.

Abdul-Mateen II was last seen as Black Manta in the WB/DC Comics blockbuster Aquaman, and is in talks for the lead in Jordan Peele’s Candyman sequel. He’ll also be fresh off HBO’s Watchmen.

The Emmy-winning Netflix anthology sci-fi series employs a different cast of actors in each episode to explore themes linked to mankind and the dangerous technology they have created.

The anthology nature of the show ensures that fans will see a wide array of actors, characters and plot lines during each season. For example, season 4 featured episodes like the space thriller “USS Callister,” starring Breaking Bad‘s Jesse Plemons, the romantic comedy “Hang The DJ,” the Maxine Peake-fronted black and white nightmare “Metalhead,” “Arkangel” directed by Jodie Foster, and Colm McCarthy’s “Black Museum.”

Although Netflix has remained mum on the upcoming season, the streaming giant did announce plans earlier this month to double down on interactive series following the success of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, series creator Charlie Brooker’s chose your own adventure 1980s-set computer game feature.

“It’s a huge hit here in India, it’s a huge hit around the world, and we realized, wow, interactive storytelling is something we want to bet more on,” Todd Yellin, VP of product, said, according to Variety. “We’re doubling down on that. So expect over the next year or two to see more interactive storytelling. And it won’t necessarily be science fiction, or it won’t necessarily be dark. It could be a wacky comedy. It could be a romance, where the audience gets to choose – should she go out with him or him.”

Bandersnatch, a standalone film in the Black Mirror universe, encourages viewers to make decisions for the main character, young programmer Stefan, who begins to question reality as he adapts a sprawling fantasy novel into a video game.

Season 5 of Black Mirror has no concrete release date, though fans shouldn’t have to wait too long. Brooker confirmed to the Radio Times in early 2019 that at least one episode of the new season was filmed before Bandersnatch, and he said he excepted the premiere date to be “imminent-is.”

Black Mirror seasons 1-4 and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch are currently available to stream on Netflix.

Photo credit: Anthony Harvey / Stringer / Getty