With a rumored $7 million-an-episode price tag, Netflix is hoping that its noir cyberpunk “Blade Runner“-like series “Altered Carbon” will entice audiences to binge-watch the unusual sci-fi tale of murder, sex and betrayal.
Based on the 2002 sci-fi novel of the same name by British author Richard K. Morgan, “Altered Carbon” tells the story of a gangster turned super soldier named Takeshi Kovacs. Brought back to life 250 years after he dies, Kovacs is tasked by Laurens Bancroft, a mysterious and powerful millionaire, to solve Bancroft’s own murder.
The world (set 300 years into the future) is one in which people with enough money can download and pass their consciousness from body to body, which are known as “sleeves.”
With a soul or personality that can be digitized and indefinitely transferred from one sleeve to another, individuals with enough cash to burn can, in theory, live forever.
In the new trailer, posted by Netflix on Thursday, we see Kovacs (played by “House of Cards'” Joel Kinnaman) trying to understand the new world he’s been thrust into.
Luckily for our hero, Kovacs is also equipped with combat muscle memory, which comes in handy, considering how many times we see him fight in the trailer.
The similarities to “Blade Runner 2049” are hard to miss. The trailer shows a world filled with neon signage lighting up a grim cityscape, multiple glowing-eyed strippers, flying cars weaving around skyscrapers at night, constant rain and even a mad millionaire who would impress the likes of Dr. Eldon Tyrell.
But then the trailer morphs into the kind of fast-paced fight scenes similar to those seen in “The Matrix.” And that’s a good thing for those of us who like our sci-fi action-packed.
“Altered Carbon” debuts on Netflix worldwide on Feb. 2.
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