Netflix has found its Takeshi Kovacs.
According to Deadline, Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, Robocop) has been cast as the lead in the streaming service’s adaptation of the Richard Morgan novel Altered Carbon. The series was developed, written and executive produced by Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Shutter Island, White House Down), and Miguel Spochnik (Game of Thrones, House, Repo Men) has signed on to direct the first episode of the 10-episode first season.
With this casting news, Kinnaman continues his relationship with Netflix. The streaming giant picked up the former AMC drama The Killing for its last season in which Kinnaman played detective Stephen Holder. He has also appeared in Netflix’s original drama House of Cards.
Altered Carbon, based on Richard Morgan’s 2002 sci-fi novel of the same name, centers on a world in the 25th century where the mind can be digitized and transferred from body-to-body. Kinnaman’s character, Takeshi Kovacs, is a former Envoy soldier. His consciousness has been stuck for 500 years, until he is downloaded in order to help solve a murder and save the Earth. The novel won the Phillip K. Dick Award for Best Novel in 2003.