'Altered Carbon' Season 2 Renewed or Cancelled? Series May Return Without Joel Kinnaman

Even before "Altered Carbon" was released and became the big hit it is today, it was apparently renewed for season 2 already.

This was reported back in December by Spoiler TV. The site reports that Netflix quietly made the renewal and had already set the production for the new season. That being said, while Netflix remains mum about the fate of "Altered Carbon," the company seems to be invested in the series so fans who enjoyed it would not have to worry about not seeing more of Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman) and his exploits.

Netflix is yet to make the announcement though, and Romper thinks that the streaming company is just holding off on an official announcement as they wait for "Altered Carbon" to gain more popularity.

There is a lot of source material for new seasons of the science fiction series. However, following the source material might also mean Kinnaman might not be back. Readers of the books by Richard K. Morgan would know that Kovacs often changes sleeves. Currently, he wears that of Ryker and intends to do so until he proves his innocence.

If the show were to draw focus away from Ryker in "Altered Carbon" season 2, this means new actors might be brought in for the new season. That is unless Ryker's role in the story will be expanded. The seeds for that have already been planted by creator Laeta Kalogridis, who used elements from the follow-up books for the first season.

This includes the addition of Quellcrist Falconer. His first appearance happens in the third book, but he was introduced in "Altered Carbon" season 1 already as someone who interacts with Kovacs.

Kalogridis explained to IGN, "I brought that forward from the third book into the first part, partly because I love the character, and partly because I didn't know whether or not there would be a second season, you know, this might be it, so I wanted to have said what I wanted to say to some degree with that character and that relationship."

Meanwhile, "Altered Carbon" season 2 is also expected to dive deeper into the mystery of the Elder civilization and relics mentioned in the first season. Kalogridis says that while the second book in the series titled "Broken Angels" will be the inspiration for that, she warns it will not be followed to the letter.

She said, "But I think the themes that the second book explores are things that both of us are fascinated by, and especially the idea of the elder civilization and their texts and the footprint they've left on all of the settled worlds. It's very, very interesting to me."

"Altered Carbon" season 1 is available to stream on Netflix now.