Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 standout Roman wasn't initially planned to be part of the CD Projekt Red/Studio Trigger anime.
As showrunner and franchise VP Bartosz Sztybor tells it on a recent REDStreams talk, impassioned discussions about film with series director Kai Ikarashi – Magnolia and A Clockwork Orange among them – led to the creation of Roman, the Night City boy obsessed with analog film over braindances.
"Roman was not in the original pitch of Edgerunners 2. He was born out of passion for cinema," Sztybor said.
He added, "Roman was created later during the [18 months] of back and forth in creating the storyline. We thought we needed a character that would bind all our characters. Let's make him a movie buff because we love cinema and [physical media]."
In Edgerunners 2, Roman proved to be the glue holding the other Night City characters together, filming the exploits of Snake Nation nomad D. as he sought revenge against those who murdered his clan. He also bonded with the chrome-obsessed Talia and crossed paths with veteran edgerunner King (AKA Weak Kingsley).
Cyberpunk 2077 even marked the arrival of our new Netflix chooms with a 2.5 update, which included a quest that saw the player's V. take a job from King – as well as being able to wield his gun, Coronation.
What didn't make the cut, however, was Studio Trigger's pitch to destroy Night City and Arasaka along with it. Would've made for a hell of a Roman feature film, though.
For more, scroll on through our explainers to the Cyberpunk timeline and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 ending.
