Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 Returns October 20 With New Child Lead and Extreme Violence
Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners returns for a second season on October 20, introducing a new protagonist, Roman Carax, a child obsessed with old-fashioned cinema. Creators Bartosz Sztybor and Saya Elder discuss the challenges of moving on from David and Lucy, the influence of New French Extremity horror, and the risks of putting a child at the center of Night City's brutality.
Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will return for a second season on October 20, shifting focus from the fan-favorite protagonists of season one to a new cast of characters navigating the brutal world of Night City. The announcement was accompanied by a new teaser unveiled during IGN's Fall Fan Fest, offering a glimpse of the upcoming season's direction.
Season one followed David Martinez, a student with a rare tolerance for cyberware enhancements, and netrunner Lucyna «Lucy» Kushinada as they fought to survive within the city's criminal underworld. Season two introduces Roman Carax, a child with a passion for old-fashioned movies, and Talia Yang, a member of the cyberware-partial criminal gang known as Maelstrom. The new story aims to expand the Edgerunners universe while staying true to its core principles.
In an interview following a special fan screening at Anime Expo, CD Projekt Red's Bartosz Sztybor, VP of Franchise, and Saya Elder, Executive Producer of Anime, spoke about the pressures of following up on the success of the first season. Sztybor admitted to mixed feelings: «Both. I'm a person that is never one hundred percent happy with what I wrote. So the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was on one hand encouraging — that the stories I write can resonate with so many people. But on the other hand: 'Oh, shit. I will never write anything that good again.'» Elder added that the success gave the team «motivation» and «confidence to fight for more anime projects.»
The biggest challenge in writing season two, according to Sztybor, was moving past David and Lucy without falling into the trap of artificially repeating what fans loved or deliberately doing the opposite. «The good thing was that I already had a few ideas while writing Edgerunners, so I just had to split my writing brain in two — one half to analyze Edgerunners and be able to stay true to it with Edgerunners 2, and the other half to keep unbiased, get back to the old ideas, and have new ones that will be something fresh.»
When it came to exploring new areas of the Cyberpunk 2077 world, Sztybor focused less on physical locations and more on themes and characters. He mentioned braindances and the people working in that industry, as well as the backstories and private lives of corporate workers, as territories he wanted to delve into. «Sometimes I have glimpses of scenes when I start thinking about the story and I search for visual metaphors when talking about or writing a scene, so then some places popped out, but I don't want to spoil anything.»
The conversation also turned to the show's visceral violence. Sztybor cited his admiration for directors David Cronenberg, Takashi Miike, and Julia Ducournau, and the influence of the New French Extremity movement — films like Martyrs, Haute Tension, and Trouble Every Day — on his approach to gore. «Evil Dead is one of my favorite horror series of all time, so when you ask me about gore — I will always say more is better and I'm so happy that Kai Ikarashi digs that too.» He noted that the team sometimes goes for exaggerated gore and sometimes shows violence in a «very cold, unemotional way,» referencing Cormac McCarthy and Michael Haneke. «For real, in Edgerunners 2, you have never seen violence shown in such a way in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe!»
Elder explained that gore and sex are areas where the studio typically gives animation house TRIGGER room to explore organically during storyboarding. She described how Sztybor conveys the ideal level of violence in scripts through onomatopoeia, such as «his head goes CRUSH» or «the building goes BOOM,» and occasionally throws out grotesque ideas for inspiration. «TRIGGER usually takes that and amplifies it in a way only they can.»
Roman's obsession with filmmaking shaped the season's narrative in a reciprocal way. Sztybor said the idea to include braindances led to conversations with TRIGGER and director Kai Ikarashi that influenced both narrative and visual choices. «So Roman shaped Edgerunners 2, but also Edgerunners 2 created and shaped Roman.» The character is inspired by the 1990s, when cinema was different, leading to the concept of a kid who values the past and the cinematic experience over being plugged into a braindance.
Elder revealed she initially fought hard against having a child protagonist. «I knew the audience would string us up by our thumbs the second anything happened to this baby! But Night City doesn't take it easy for anyone, not even a literal child.» Roman is motivated by his desire to capture stories through film, a drive that will undoubtedly collide with the harsh realities of his environment.
With its new lead and uncompromising approach to violence, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 aims to carve its own identity while honoring the legacy of its predecessor. The season premieres on Netflix on October 20, promising a fresh yet familiar descent into the dark, neon-soaked streets of Night City.
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