‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ Director Dan Trachtenberg Joins ‘Black Mirror’ Season 3
Black Mirroris already a perverse and pitch-black riff onThe Twilight Zone, so why shouldn’t it steal directors from a film series that also seems to be borrowing a thing or two from Rod Serling’s iconic television show?10 Cloverfield LanedirectorDan Trachtenbergwill helm an episode of the popular science fiction anthology series' third season, which waswooed away from the U.K.’s Channel 4 by Netflix last year. This certainly feels like good news, as Trachtenberg is the kind of director who should be able to makeBlack Mirror’s blend of sci-fi, horror, and perverse satire sing.Deadlinerevealed the news, although as with much ofBlack Mirrorseason 3, there’s not much in the way of details. Trachtenberg joins a directorial line-up that already includesAtonementandHannadirector Joe Wright andHouse of CardsandThe Fallveteran Jakob Verbruggen, but with the third season set to include twelve new stories, more names should be added to that list soon enough. We know fromprevious reportsthat Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis will be among the cast this year, following in the footsteps of actors like Jon Hamm, Hayley Atwell, Domhnall Gleeson.10 Cloverfield Laneis one of the most confident feature debuts in recent years and Trachtenberg revealed himself to be capable of directing fine actors to fine performances, crafting simmering, low-key tension, and staging major action sequences with a fresh eye. His love of genre storytelling is apparent in every frame of that film, so the thought of him getting a chance to tell a story inCharlie Brooker’s horrifying near-future universe is a thrilling prospect. BothBlack Mirrorand theCloverfieldseries consist of one-off science fiction stories with a deep human connection – they’re two peas in a pod, really.
This is the latest piece of good news forBlack Mirrorseason 3, which continues to sound more and more promising with each new development. In addition to all of the talent currently attached to this new batch of episodes, having a home on Netflix will remove some of the frustrations that accompanied the previous seasons. Longer seasons! And delivered all at once for binge-watching! Few shows actually reward Netflix marathon-watching quite likeBlack Mirror, so the more readily available episodes, the better.
Netflix hasn’t announced any dates for whenBlack Mirrorwill begin filming or when it will make its return, but all eyes seem to be on 2017.
