The acclaimed anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, known for its gut-wrenching conclusion, could have delivered an even more devastating fate for its protagonist, David. Writer and producer Bartosz Sztybor revealed in an interview that several darker endings were considered before settling on the anime's heartbreaking narrative.
"There was never a happy ending," Sztybor stated in an interview with animecorner, "There were even worse endings." One particularly grim possibility involved Arasaka capturing David after his death. His consciousness would then be transplanted into a military robot to fight in corporate wars in Africa or South America. Another variation explored the idea of David being reprogrammed into a cyborg similar to Adam Smasher.
Sztybor described such an alternate fate as turning the story from a "Shakespearian tragedy into a straight-up existential horror," while acknowledging it would have been thematically appropriate for the cyberpunk genre's depiction of a disposable society. He remained firm on the decision to keep David dead, emphasizing that resurrecting him or providing a conventionally happy ending would have undermined the emotional impact of the established narrative. "If David is resurrected, finds Lucy and has seven babies, people would be like 'you destroyed those feelings,'" he explained.
The writer also confirmed that future installments of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime are planned, suggesting further opportunities to explore the bleak realities of Night City and deliver equally impactful emotional experiences for viewers. The current ending, which sees David and Rebecca meet tragic fates, is considered by many to be a powerful examination of the genre's core themes of corporate corruption and the disposability of human life.