Netflix announces Altered Carbon TV adaptation, new movie from Orphan Black writer

Netflix is making good on its promise to double the amount of original content this upcoming year.

The streaming service announced today that it would be developing a new sci-fi series based on Richard Morgan's cyberpunk novel Altered Carbon, as well as a new sci-fi movie, Arq.

The new series, which will be helmed by Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Terminator Genisys) will run for 10 episodes as opposed to Netflix's usual order of 13.

The series will focus on Takeshi Kovacs, a former warrior who's tasked with solving a murder in a futuristic world where death has all but become extinct. In this 25th-century society, minds have become digital files and souls can transfer from one body to the next without question.

According to Deadline, this has been a project closet to Kalogridis' heart for quite some time. The executive producer secured the rights to the book, as well as the other titles in Morgan's Kovacs series, almost four years ago.

There's no word on casting just yet, but considering how many different bodies the digital minds transfer through, expect this to be a pretty large and diverse one.

The show will be made by Skydance Pictures, the studio behind the new Star Trek films, and will be distributed by Netflix. All of which means it'll be made available to subscribers in all 190 countries Netflix currently operates in, instead of being locked by regional restrictions.

Netflix's other sci-fi adventure, Arq, comes from Orphan Black writer Tony Elliott and stars Arrow's Robbie Amell alongside Jessica Jones' Rachael Taylor.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie focuses on a futuristic world where the entire world's oil supply has dried up. One engineer discovers a technology that could replenish the world's energy and stop the mass violence occurring because of the lack of oil, but using said technology results in having to relive the same day over and over again.

Arq is one of the first films that Netflix is producing as part of its global initiative to bring more independent films and independent filmmakers to mainstream audiences.

There's no estimated release date for the film, but shooting will begin shortly in Toronto.