Altered Carbon, a cyberpunk series on Netflix, took years to adapt from Richard K. Morgan’s bestselling novel of the same name. Altered Carbon, however, ultimately materialised on Netflix with a 10-episode first season in February 2018 thanks to its massive enormous locked and loaded, allowing the series’ team to go all out with sci-fi mayhem. The drama, which is set in a parallel universe where humans have discovered a means to digitise their consciousness, soon gained a loyal following, and the streaming service promptly decided to renew Altered Carbon for a second season just a few months after the first one ended. Fans have been curious about the possibility of an Altered Carbon season 3 ever since the release of Altered Carbon season 2 on Netflix in February 2020.
Altered Carbon’s third season has sadly not yet been confirmed. But given that Altered Carbon takes place in a world where the dead don’t actually remain dead, there are still a lot of unanswered concerns following the season 2 conclusion. Who will appear in a future season 3 of the show because some of its most key characters weren’t given much pity in the season 2 finale (much to how HBO’s fantasy drama Game of Thrones had a penchant of murdering off important individuals with little regret)? Even better, if there was simply sleeve damage, are the key characters’ stacks really gone, or will they, in true television manner, reappear?
Until a fresh batch of episodes is released on Netflix, there will be a lot of unanswered yet hotly disputed questions. Here is what we currently know about the potential look and feel of Altered Carbon season 3.
What’s the release date for Altered Carbon season 3?
Season 3 of Altered Carbon hasn’t been formally announced by Netflix, thus a release date is also pending. A temporary puzzle can be built using the information that is now accessible, though.
Altered Carbon’s first season debuted on Netflix on February 2, 2018. The second season debuted on February 27, 2020, to glowing reviews. Altered Carbon: Resleeved, an anime spin-off, debuted on March 19, 2020. The only data points available to guide assumptions about a release date relate to the exorbitant expense of production for the series. It’s tough to speculate how Netflix feels about the cost-to-benefit ratio of any of its assets, and the streamer is notoriously silent about its audience metrics. Altered Carbon will need to have attracted sizable audience for season 2 to justify another renewal because Netflix has been a little more generous with the cancellation axe recently. The firm does appear devoted to the underlying IP, however, and with the release of the anime spin-off, perhaps the chances will be on Altered Carbon’s side.
Fans shouldn’t interpret Netflix’s silence as particularly foreboding in any case. Viewers should hold off on writing any obituaries until July because the season 2 order wasn’t made by the firm until five months after season 1 debuted on television.
Season 3 of Altered Carbon won’t be available on Netflix until early 2022, assuming the series is renewed. It’s hardly attractive to think that you could have to wait two years from now for a season that you’ll probably binge-watch in a weekend or less, but Altered Carbon season 3 ought to be well worth the wait. You can revisit the second chapter, return to the first, or explore the spin-off universe while you wait.
Who’s in the Altered Carbon season 3 cast?
It’s too early to predict who will be in Altered Carbon season 3 because neither an announcement nor any casting suggestions have been made by the show’s creators. The humanoid AI Edgar Poe (played by Chris Conner) is implied in the show to have backed up a copy of O.G. Kovacs (Byron Mann) before his stack was destroyed. Showrunner Alison Schapker reaffirmed this in a conversation with IGN.
We absolutely adored the scene at the conclusion of season 1 where Kovacs gave Ortega back the sleeve of [Elias] Ryker and all you saw afterwards were these boots leaving the elevator, making you wonder, “I guess Kovacs is coming back, but in what sleeve?” said Schapker. “And in season 2, we wished to fulfil that promise to the audience. We also really liked the idea of Poe, who has spent the entire season fighting degeneration, having his own noble moment in which he essentially kills himself while simultaneously successfully emulating Kovacs. We made that promise to the audience, and Takeshi Kovacs’ consciousness is represented by his stack. But we’ll have to wait and see in what sleeve.”
Anthony Mackie, who played Kovacs in Altered Carbon season 2, is eagerly anticipated to return for the third season. Sadly, since Mackie took over for Joel Kinnaman after the first season, it’s unlikely that he will return if the authors continue the trend of resleeving each season. However, Mackie might make an appearance in flashbacks. The actor added that he isn’t quite ready to put up his Altered Carbon boots: “I’m hoping I can bring Kovacs back for another season in the future. Without a doubt, I’m not prepared to stop the series.”
For season 3, Will Yun Lee, also known as “Kovacs Prime,” is expected to return as the other Takeshi Kovacs. Chris Conner, who plays Poe, Renée Elise Goldsberry, who plays Quellcrist Falconer, Simone Missick, who plays the bounty hunter Trepp, and Dina Shihabi, who plays Dig 301 are also expected to appear. We’ll have to wait and see if Dichen Lachman, who plays Kovacs’ sister Reileen Kawahara, will return. Altered Carbon season 3 will have new characters, as with all shows, maybe including a new Takeshi Kovacs.
The Joker and Deadpool 2 actress Zazie Beetz has recently sparked rumours in the dark internet corners that she would be cast as the newest Takeshi Kovacs sleeve. All the rumours appear to be based on an interview Laeta Kalogridis gave to The Wrap in 2018 where she stated, “If you don’t actually need to change your gender surgically, the idea that this kind of technology creates interesting intersections between your idea of your inner or spiritual self and your idea of your physical self, or your idea of being fluid in some way, or even the idea of reassigning your gender, becomes much easier. At the very least, something changes. You are still residing in a body that is not your own. And I believe that we have only begun to scratch the surface of the idea of being able to reconstruct the physical self in a different way.”
Fans should hold off on declaring Beetz an official member of the Altered Carbon season 3 cast until confirmation from a dependable news source, even though a gender-flipped Kovacs fits within the Altered Carbon mythology without a doubt.
What’s the plot of Altered Carbon season 3?
Your hypothesis regarding the storyline of a prospective Altered Carbon season 3 is just as valid as anyone else’s, including Schapker’s. Schapker really revealed this to The Hollywood Reporter in early March 2020: “I have requests, but we’re awaiting Netflix’s official response. There isn’t a pickup here. We change with the seasons. I can’t wait for season 3. I have a tonne of suggestions for routes, but I’m not sure how much I can contribute there. But we’re all set to leave!”
The most significant unsolved question from Altered Carbon season 2 is what happened to Kovacs and his sister Reileen. Of course, there are other significant unanswered mysteries. No matter what role he’s playing, everyone would undoubtedly like to see Mackie make a comeback, which isn’t ruled out if the show’s producers decide they want to do that. They can add his character to the plot, given that there could be additional actors with sleeves that resemble Mackie. Even if there are still many unanswered questions and unconfirmed rumours, one thing is certain: as long as the stack remains stable, what’s dead doesn’t always stay literally dead.
