Black Mirror season 6 will have an all-star cast, reports say

black mirror
(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has gathered together a starry cast for the sixth season of Black Mirror, according to reports. 

The wait for news on a fresh run of the show has taken some time. Indeed, over three years have passed since the fifth season of Black Mirror debuted on Netflix, but finally, things are now moving once again.

According to Variety, Deadpool's Zazie Beetz, I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu, Josh Hartnett, Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, Danny Ramirez, Clara Rugaard, Auden Thornton and Anjana Vasan will all have major roles in the show's sixth run, though a spokesperson for Netflix has stressed that the reports are as yet unconfirmed. 

As previously reported, the show's creator Charlie Brooker and Netflix are operating with a grander vision for the new season, which is set to have more episodes than 2019's three-episode run. This first batch of casting announcements covers only the season's first three episodes, with more cast members to be confirmed in the coming weeks. 

The show's new season is being billed as a step up from the fifth season, with an inside source promising that it will be "even more cinematic in scope, with each instalment being treated as an individual film." 

Charlie Brooker has been tight-lipped on the new season. In fact, the last time he offered up a comment on the show was in 2020, telling the Radio Times that he wasn't sure if the series would ever return, saying: "At the moment, I don’t know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so I’m not working away on one of those. I’m sort of keen to revisit my comic skill set, so I’ve been writing scripts aimed at making myself laugh.”

The writer has been keeping himself busy with Cat Burglar, which was released on Netflix earlier this year. The show is an interactive, old school Hanna-Barbera style cartoon, where the viewer answers questions to help a guard dog named Peanut protect a priceless work of art from a cat burglar named Rowdy. 

Now, though, Brooker is back to work on Black Mirror.

What a cast!

Brooker and his producing partner Annabel Jones have always been able to attract great talent and this new cast looks no different. 

Mara, Beetz, Paul and Hartnett have established profiles, but Brooker and Jones have also snared a number of rising stars. 

Essiedu is fresh from an acclaimed role in Sky's sci-fi drama The Lazarus Project, Ramirez has been basking in the glow of Top Gun: Maverick, Vasan has won plaudits for her role in Channel 4's We Are Lady Parts and Rugaard has just led Sky's quirky drama, The Rising. 

With more casting announcements to come and a bumper new season to look forward to, we can't wait to see how Brooker ups the ante for the show's sixth season. Sadly, with production only just beginning, it'll probably be 2023 before the series airs.

Looking for more Black Mirror? We've ranked the 10 best episodes here. 

Tom Goodwyn
Freelance Entertainment Writer

Tom Goodwyn was formerly TechRadar's Senior Entertainment Editor. He's now a freelancer writing about TV shows, documentaries and movies across streaming services, theaters and beyond. Based in East London, he loves nothing more than spending all day in a movie theater, well, he did before he had two small children…