14 Years Ago Today, A Masterpiece Sci-Fi Episode Landed That Robert Downey Jr. Almost Turned Into a Movie

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Fourteen years ago today, one of the most acclaimed episodes of the series Black Mirror nearly became a film starring Robert Downey Jr. The show, created by Charlie Brooker, has consistently grown in popularity since it first aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 2011. While Brooker wrote or co-wrote every episode except one (released December 18, 2011), “The Entire History of You” is widely considered a standout.

Written by Jesse Armstrong, the creator of popular sitcoms like Peep Show, Fresh Meat, and Succession, “The Entire History of You” imagined a future where people could record and rewatch their memories thanks to an implanted device called a “grain.” The episode centers on a couple, Liam and Ffion Foxwell (played by Toby Kebbell and Jodie Whittaker), and the story was originally planned as a standalone movie. Robert Downey Jr.’s production company, Team Downey, even bought the rights to make the film, but the project was ultimately never produced.

“The Entire History of You” Would Have Been a Great Feature Film Outside Black Mirror

Jesse Armstrong drew on his experience with the first-person perspective style of filming from Peep Show when creating the Black Mirror episode, “The Entire History of You.” This episode heavily featured this technique, showing characters rewatching their memories. The story centers on Liam and Ffion, and how Liam uses his ability to review his memories to discover Ffion’s infidelity and learns a surprising truth about his daughter. Interestingly, Armstrong secured the rights to adapt the episode’s concept into a full-length film when he initially signed on to write it.

Team Downey, the production company started by Robert and Susan Downey Jr. in 2010, acquired the rights to the story “The Entire History of You” in 2013. Author Charlie Brooker intended to adapt it into a film about a man discovering a secret about his late wife while revisiting old memories, but the project has stalled. In 2018, five years after the initial purchase, Brooker indicated the deal may have fallen through and the film was unlikely to be made.

As a film fan, I’ve always thought the idea behind the Black Mirror episode “The Entire History of You” would make a phenomenal movie, even outside of the show. Sadly, we haven’t seen any movement on that front in years. Still, that episode is one of the strongest in the whole Black Mirror series – a perfect example of its near-future storytelling – and it’ll likely be remembered fondly even if a full-length film never materializes. Apparently, the rights still belong to the original writer, Armstrong, but there are no plans for a movie anytime soon, which is a real shame.

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2025-12-18 16:40