Robert Downey Jr. Wanted to Adapt One 'Black Mirror' Episode Into a Movie – ryan

In 2013, Academy Award-winner Robert Downey Jr. was so blown away by one Black Mirror episode that he bought the rights to it in hopes of expanding the installment into a feature-length film. The Season 1 episode, titled “The Entire History of You,” was an instant favorite among fans – Downey included. So what happened to his planned movie adaptation?

Praised as one of the most exceptional television shows of the 2010s, Black Mirror utilizes media and technology to explore a wide array of social issues in various near-future dystopian settings. With 27 episodes, 6 seasons, and a TV special under its belt, the thrilling series has captivated audiences everywhere with its thought-provoking message and handling of heavy themes and concepts. It also features a whole host of famous faces, including Jon Hamm, Jesse Plemons, and Daniel Kaluuya, among many others.

Let’s take a closer look at why “The Entire History of You” caught Downey’s eye and whether it will ever hit the big screen.

Black Mirror

Release Date: December 4, 2011
Network: Channel 4, Netflix
Showrunner: Charlie Brooker
Directors: Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh
Writers: Jesse Armstrong

Cast

Cristin Milioti

Nanette Cole

“The Entire History of You” Is a Poignant and Profound ‘Black Mirror’ Episode

Created by Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is widely regarded as one of the greatest small-screen triumphs of the 2010s. Each season of the sensational sci-fi anthology series features engrossing standalone episodes set in a dystopian near future. The acclaimed series premiered in 2011 on the British network Channel 4, where it ran for two seasons (and a Christmas movie) before moving to Netflix in 2016, reaching an even broader audience on the streaming giant and taking the world by storm.

The Season 1 episode “The Entire History of You” is considered to be among the most lauded episodes in the immersive series, and it left such a massive impact on viewers that even Academy Award-winner Robert Downey Jr. saw its overwhelming promise as a potential feature film. Toby Kebbell and Jodie Whittaker star in the standout episode, in which a device known as a “grain” is implanted behind a person’s ear, allowing them to replay and subsequently re-experience their memories.

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Kebbell and Whittaker portray Liam and Ffion Foxwell, a couple who find their marriage tested after Liam begins to suspect that his wife may be having an affair with a close friend of hers, prompting him to scrutinize his own personal memories and question Ffion’s assertions about the true nature of their relationship. The thought-provoking episode explores romantic relationships and serves as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of technology and not being present with loved ones due to the overwhelming temptation of the internet and cell phones.

Robert Downey Jr. Tries & Fails to Adapt the Acclaimed ‘Black Mirror’ Episode

In 2013, Hollywood leading man Robert Downey Jr. purchased the rights to “The Entire History of You” (beating fellow star George Clooney in a bidding war) with the intention of adapting the poignant episode of the anthology series into a film starring Downey, yet more than a decade later the adaptation appears to be dead. Five years after Downey and his creative team bought the rights, episode writer and Succession creator Jesse Armstrong revealed in a 2018 interview with Yahoo Movies UK that the project was stuck in development hell:

“I think it’s now available again so let’s make this interview an advertisement that someone else can option it. It’s not currently being made. It’s in development hell! It’s not progressing but we do (want it made).”

Since Armstrong last publicly commented on the status of the potential film adaptation, there has been no major update, and it seems as though audiences may be waiting quite a while (or even forever) for the episode to cross over into the cinema. The power and profound message behind the Season 1 hit seems all the more prevalent and timely, as today’s society is obsessed with constantly staying linked to the internet and choosing to live their lives through a screen instead of fully being present and developing a genuine human connection.

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There’s no doubt that the always charismatic Downey, his production company, and their creative crew would have excelled at fully fleshing out the Black Mirror episode and diving even deeper down the rabbit hole in their retelling. That said, the anthology series truly thrives on the fact that each installment feels more intimate and contained, and adapting it to film form may dilute the overall impact of the themes and commentary.

Black Mirror continues to captivate, thrill, and delight audiences over a decade since it first made its epic debut, with the lauded series boldly tackling a slew of concepts like consumerism, virtual reality, surveillance, and the patriarchy. It has won numerous accolades, including nine Emmys, four BAFTA TV Awards, and a Peabody, and has been credited with helping spark a resurgence in popularity for the anthology television format, with fans anxiously awaiting the highly-anticipated seventh season scheduled to premiere on April 10, 2025. Stream Black Mirror on Netflix.