‘Altered Carbon’ Season 2: What We Know So Far

The good news for fans is that “Altered Carbon” Season 2 is already in the works. In fact, production for the second season was already started in February 2019.

The bad news is that there’s no definite date yet as to when it might be released. The most optimistic guess is that it might arrive by late 2019, but a more realistic projection would be a 2020 release. To help fans cope with the long wait ahead, here are some things known so far about the show’s second season.

1. It will have fewer episodes

The first season of the hit sci-fi series contained 10 episodes. Unfortunately, fans need to prepare for a shorter second season when it arrives later this year, at the earliest. Apparently, the show will only contain eight episodes in the upcoming season.

Perhaps part of the reason for decreasing the number of episodes is the cost of their production. While exact details have not been revealed, actor Joel Kinnaman said that the budget for the first season alone is bigger than the combined budget of the first three seasons of HBO’s hit series “Game Of Thrones.”

2. The second season might not be the last

For fans, having fewer episodes per season might not seem such a bad thing, especially if they take into consideration that the second season might not be the last — if plans pan out just right. In fact, there might even be a third or even a fourth season to look forward to.

This was hinted at by “Altered Carbon” author Richard K. Morgan. The author revealed that he is aiming for a five-season series, so if plans push through, fans can expect four more seasons of this thrilling but twist-filled sci-fi series.

3. Kovacs will look different

It might initially disappoint fans to know that actor Joel Kinnaman would no longer be reprising his role as Kovacs. In “Altered Carbon” Season 2, the character will be played by actor Anthony Mackie.

However, fans are likely to take such a drastic appearance change of its main character in stride. After all, the premise of the entire series is that people’s consciousness can just easily switch bodies if necessary, so trading one face for another should not be such a big deal.

4. There is a 30-year time jump

While there is no official confirmation about its plot yet, the second season is expected to be about “Broken Angels,” Richard K. Morgan’s second book after “Altered Carbon.” Since there is a 30-year gap in the timeline between the ending of the first and beginning of the second novel, it is likely that this 30-year time jump will be reflected in the show’s second season as well.

5. There is an anime adaptation in the works.

Netflix already announced that an animated version of “Altered Carbon” is already in the works. For this project, the online streaming giant has entered a partnership with Japanese animation studios Anima, Sublimation and David Production.