Cyberpunk: Edgerunners creator and showrunner Bartosz Sztybor admits there is plenty of external pressure on bringing David back for season 2, but says he is happy that the animated Netflix series is having a clean break from the previous gang's collection of netrunners and cyberpsychos.
"Receiving dozens of DMs every day [asking] to bring David back can put pressure on you. From the very start, I knew that – no – [season two] needs to be something different to stay true to the IP. Even if the whole audience wants David back, I had a thought that they don't really want that. If they got that, they would probably be disappointed," Sztybor tells GamesRadar+.
That sense of expectation on himself has seemingly manifested once more for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2, which charts the story of a brand new group of characters on the chrome-lined streets of Night City.
In the place of David – who was crushingly killed off in the first season of Edgerunners, along with most of his accompanying crew – are a quartet of new protagonists: fading edgerunner Weak Kingsley, camera-obsessed Roman, nomad D., and chrome-infused Talia.
According to Sztybor, that move away from the characters that led to Edgerunners' popularity is causing him "nightmares."
"Even now, I have nightmares," Sztybor says. "Season 2 is different. It's so different that people who fell in love with Edgerunners will be surprised. So I felt pressure. I still have nightmares, but I'm super proud [of] the decision to make something completely different. I stayed strong with that decision. [Animation studio] Studio Trigger helped with that… our rebel approach, Studio Trigger's rebel approach was very, very helpful here."
Yet, the David-less season has left a great first impression. Early Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 reactions were overwhelmingly positive, suggesting that the follow-up can be just as preem as the 2022 modern classic.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 is streaming on Netflix from October 20.
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