Prime Video subsequently granted The Expanse a platform for seasons 4, 5, and 6. Although for now, season 6 appears to mark the end of The Expanse, a future season 7 or spinoff is not beyond question with three more books awaiting adaptation.
The Expanse season 6 derives from the series' sixth novel, Babylon's Ashes, with material from the novella Strange Dogs also included. While it neatly ties up the Sol system's war with Marco Inaros' Free Navy that began in season 5, The Expanse season 6 fixates on its source material's future with its limited Laconia storyline that foreshadows the events of books 7, 8, and 9. The number of untapped books left in the original series highlights just how much more material there is left to cover.
As things stand, official plans for The Expanse season 7 have not emerged publically. However, it isn't safe to assume that season 6 is the end, as The Expanse's creators have repeatedly expressed their willingness to tell the remainder of the show's stories in some form. Here's what The Expanse's future may hold, following the series finale on Prime Video.
Why The Expanse Season 7 Isn't Happening
The Expanse season 7 will not arrive on Prime Video, as Amazon Studios announced in November 2020 that the show's sixth season would be the last. Although no particular reason for The Expanse's premature ending has been officialized, the signs point to the series' demanding budget as the root cause — which may also explain Game of Thrones, for example. Therefore, perhaps Amazon didn't deem The Expanse season 7 a worthy return on its investment.
Will The Expanse Have A Laconia Spinoff? Why It's Possible
A Laconia spinoff could materialize, as much of the plot in The Expanse's final three novels involves the distant planet. Incorporating Strange Dogs in The Expanse season 6 helps sustain the protomolecule's presence in the storyline and highlights the developing colonies beyond the Sol system's ring gate. Centering on Laconia and its rising empire under iral Winston Duarte, The Expanse season 6's foreshadowing of the future could hint at an film or series.
The Expanse Show Is Over, But There's More Story To Tell
The defeat of Marco and the formation of the Transport Union usher in a new era of The Expanse's narrative 28 years after the events of Babylon's Ashes. New characters, existing character deaths, and an increased focus on the protomolecule storyline all figure into the conclusive trilogy comprised of Persepolis Rising, Tiamat's Wrath, and Leviathan Falls. Even without a confirmation of the series' continuation, fans of The Expanse can find hope in the fact that writers Franck and Abraham, as well as showrunner Naren Shankar, consider the show's completion on Prime Video more so a pause than a definitive end.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Shankar spoke on the possibility of future Expanse projects, stating, "There are no firm plans for anything yet, but it's definitely something we would all love to be a part of and I think it would be amazing to be able to do that with a series like this." Discussing the same subject during an Amazon Live Q&A, Franck added, "I would say wait and see. There's a lot of things happening that the fans don't know about and that we can't talk about." Time will tell if The Expanse sees its true ending brought to life on screen, though the prospects appear bright for the epic sci-fi series' future.