Why Did ‘Altered Carbon’ Replace Joel Kinnaman With Anthony Mackie?

Netflix’s Altered Carbon Season 2 starts with a shake up for Takeshi Kovacs. In Altered Carbon Season 1, the super warrior known as “The Last Envoy” found himself resleeved in the body of actor Joel Kinnaman. However, as Altered Carbon Season 2 starts, that version of Takeshi Kovacs is nowhere to be found. Eventually, our hero is put in a new body. It appears that Netflix has replaced Suicide Squad star Joel Kinnaman with Marvel actor Anthony Mackie…and South Korean singer Jihae???

So what gives? Why did Altered Carbon replace its leading man? Did Joel Kinnaman want to leave Altered Carbon? And who is the original Takeshi Kovacs? Was Jihae really Takeshi Kovacs?? Here’s everything you need to know about Altered Carbon Season 2’s new star, Anthony Mackie.

What Happened to Joel Kinnaman on Altered Carbon? Why Did Altered Carbon Season 2 Cast Anthony Mackie as Takeshi Kovacs?

Altered Carbon takes place in a future where all of humanity has downloaded their consciousness onto discs called cortical stacks. These are then implanted at the base of the skull, giving people the opportunity to change bodies or even download their consciousness into a clone of themselves. Because of this conceit, a number of actors have already played Takeshi Kovacs in Altered Carbon. However, Joel Kinnaman was the primary “sleeve” for Kovacs in Altered Carbon Season 1.

In Altered Carbon Season 2, Takeshi Kovacs has been living off the grid with pal Poe (Chris Conner). A mercenary named Trepp (Simone Missick) is hired by a “Meth” (or super wealthy, immortal person) from Kovacs’s homeworld, Harlan’s World, to track the warrior down. Once this happens, the Meth in question gives Kovacs a top-of-the-line new sleeve that has been given genetic enhancements. This new body is played by Anthony Mackie.

Before you weep for Joel Kinnaman or tweet angry tweets at Netflix because you miss him, keep in mind that Kinnaman is doing just fine. He’s on Apple’s For All Mankind and is currently shooting The Suicide Squad with director James Gunn. Plus, Kinnaman didn’t really want to come back to the project! Not because of any bad blood, but as he told journalists during a 2018 Netflix press day Decider attended because the concept of resleeving was too damn cool! “Like, if I was the show runner, I would put [Kovacs] in a new sleeve,” Kinnaman said. So all is good!

How Does Anthony Mackie’s Takeshi Kovacs in Altered Carbon Season 2 Compare with Joel Kinnaman’s Takeshi Kovacs from Altered Carbon Season 1?

The Juilliard-trained Anthony Mackie is universally recognized as one of the finest actors of his generation, so suffice it to say, he does alright for himself in Altered Carbon Season 2.  That said, I have a tiny quibble with his performance, and that is he comes across way more like Sam “Falcon” Wilson in the part than the Takeshi Kovacs we’ve come to know and love.

Mackie nails the required action sequences, love scenes, and sci-fi techno jargon that the role demands, but there’s something missing from his performance for me. He never quite nails the louche arrogance that previous Kovacs actors like Kinnaman and Will Yun Lee embodied. Kovacs is man deeply haunted by his past, but he also has a darkly grim sense of humor that Mackie never quite shows.

So for me, personally, Mackie is fine in Altered Carbon Season 2, but I also felt that he was just playing the Falcon, but with magnet hands and a dead revolutionary girlfriend.

Who Plays the Original Takeshi Kovacs in Altered Carbon? Who Are All the Actors Who Play Takeshi Kovacs?

In case you are keeping track, here are all the actors we’ve seen play Takeshi Kovacs on Altered Carbon (spoilers for Season 2 ahead!):

• Will Yun Lee is the original Takeshi Kovacs, and we see him again in Season 2 thanks to flashbacks and a wild twist.
• Byron Mann plays Takeshi Kovacs in the very beginning of Altered Carbon Season 1.
• Joel Kinnaman plays Takeshi Kovacs throughout the bulk of Altered Carbon Season 1. The body belonged to a man named Elias Ryker, a police officer who was romantically involved with Detective Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda) before Kovacs meets and eventually hooks up with her.
• Jihae, a South Korean singer and actress, plays a lounge singer at the beginning of Altered Carbon Season 2 who is revealed to be Kovacs in disguise.
• Anthony Mackie plays Takeshi Kovacs for the majority of Altered Carbon Season 2.

Altered Carbon Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

Watch Altered Carbon on Netflix