Warning! This post contains massive spoilers regarding the finale of Altered Carbon Season 1. Read at your own risk.
Netflix's Altered Carbon is a show where bodies are a dime a dozen. Given that, and some spoilery details from the finale that will be addressed later, many have assumed Joel Kinnaman would not return to the series should it get renewed for Season 2. Now, the question of whether Kinnaman could return if Altered Carbon gets a second season is being broached again as the actor won't confirm he's out of the series:
I can't confirm that. We don't know anything about the second season.
Joel Kinnaman can stonewall Altered Carbon answer seekers all he wants, but the facts remain the same. While Kinnaman portrayed Takeshi Kovacs in the series, the body Kovacs was in originally belonged to a man named Ryker. Ryker was the deceased and romantically involved partner of Kristin Ortega, who played a big part in helping Takeshi uncover the mystery of the death of Laurens Bancroft. To repay Ortega, Takeshi returned Ryker (Kinnaman) and had his own consciousness put into a new sleeve, which was only featured as a silhouette that could be either male or female.
With Altered Carbon's plot suggesting Joel Kinnaman is out of the series in a potential Season 2 scenario, there's a lot of stuff happening outside of the show's plot that would indicate Kinnaman is moving on as well. In addition to reporting Kinnaman's quote, THR noted that the actor only signed a one-year deal with the series. Also, Kinnaman has already lined up his next gig following the Season 1 conclusion of Altered Carbon and will be starring in Amazon's adaptation of Hanna. Finally, Kinnaman stated two weeks ago to TVGuide that he doubted he was returning as Takeshi Kovacs due to the book's sequel, Broken Angels, which is completely different in terms of scenery, sleeves, and scenarios when compared to Altered Carbon Season 1.
To Kinnaman's credit, he didn't confirm he wasn't going to be back, and it's not like the actor showing up in Season 2 is completely out of the question. Kinnaman could show up with Ortega as the actual Ryker, or be featured in some unseen moment from Season 1. While Kinnaman isn't confident he's returning, he's absolutely down to return for a potential Season 2 provided it's as good as his first time on the show:
If it was a cool story, for sure. I loved making this show. I had a great experience. The feedback has been fantastic. But I have no idea what's going on with the second season.
Altered Carbon Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. Check out what else is coming to the streaming service with our Netflix guide, and for more information on upcoming television shows in general, hit up our midseason premiere guide. For more streaming options, take a look at our 2018 Amazon Prime schedule.
