Edgerunners' Original Ending Trapped David in War

David Martinez dying at the hands of Adam Smasher was supposed to hurt. It did. But according to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners writer Bartosz Sztybor, the original plan was worse.

In an upcoming interview with Anime Corner, shared by Sztybor on X, the writer confirmed that one early draft of the show's ending had David survive his final confrontation, only to be captured by Arasaka and shipped off to fight in the Corporate Wars. "There was never a happy ending," Sztybor said. "There were even worse endings. There was one ending in which David doesn't die entirely. Arasaka gets him and he ends up fighting in Africa or South America in Corporate Wars."

That alternate ending would have been devastating in a completely different way. In the version we got, David's death is a sacrifice; Lucy escapes to the moon colony she always dreamed of reaching, and his final act means something. Strip that away, replace it with Arasaka turning him into a corporate weapon fighting wars he never chose, and you've got a character who spent the entire show trying to escape the machine only to become its property. I think the version we got was the right call. David dying for something he believed in is tragic. David being hollowed out and used as a tool is just bleak, and it would have undercut the emotional core of his relationship with Lucy entirely.

The timing of this revelation isn't accidental. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 was confirmed at Anime Expo 2026 for a fall 2026 release on Netflix, with a new teaser trailer premiering on June 29. The second season is a standalone 10-episode story with an entirely new cast, directed by Kai Ikarashi, who replaces Hiroyuki Imaishi while Studio Trigger remains on production. Four new characters have been revealed so far: Weak Kingsley, a washed-up veteran Edgerunner; D, a Snake Nation Netrunner hunting his clan's killer; Talia Yang, a corpo kid drawn to chrome and violence; and Roman Carax, a young cinephile documenting Night City's stories.

Sztybor returns as showrunner, writer, and producer for Season 2, with Kanno Ichigo serving as lead designer. A dedicated panel at Anime Expo on July 3 will pull back the curtain further on the new season.