The second season of Syfy’s Dark Matter ended on a whopping cliffhanger this summer with big question marks hanging over the fate of most of the series’ regular characters. It stands to reason that many, if not all, will survive into Season 3 because the fans have become invested in them. Moreover, according to the show’s creator and executive producer, Joseph Mallozzi, the cast is one of the show’s biggest assets.

“Our cast was terrific in Season 1, but they were even better in Season 2,” Mallozzi says in an exclusive interview with Geektown. “They’re clearly growing more comfortable in their roles, and with each other. The show’s visual effects also took a huge leap in Season 2. Kudos to VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson.”

Season 2’s early episodes introduced two new characters to the crew of the Raza in Devon (Shaun Sipos) and Nyx (Melanie Liburd). No new additions will be welcomed aboard at the start of Season 3, Mallozzi tells us. Still, he doesn’t rule out the possibility that there will be new faces at some point in the season. “The crew will be making new allies,” he says. “A couple may even end up on the ship for a while. But no new regulars. For now.”

The flip side of the second season’s crew shake-up was that no character’s continued involvement in Dark Matter should be taken for granted. Right from the Season 2 premiere viewers were forewarned to be ready for surprising deaths. When asked if that will be the case in the third season, too, Mallozzi is understandably cagey. “I’ll politely decline to answer that question,” he says. “I think Season 2 made it fairly clear that the galaxy is a very dangerous place and it’ll get even more dangerous in Season 3.”

Mallozzi’s warning is unsurprising given that most of main characters in Dark Matter have a criminal record. The efforts of the Raza’s crew to make amends will, however, continue to be a major theme of the series, explains Mallozzi. Yet, redemption won’t come easily because the crew will have to deal with several antagonists who have caused them problems before and the big issue that brought Season 2 to an end with a bang.

“We’ll continue to delve into the histories of our respective crew members, uncovering more than a few revelations along the way,” Mallozzi reveals. “More twists, turns, shocks, and surprises. Some returns perhaps expected – Alexander Rook, Victor and the rebel androids, Misaki Han – and some not. Also, one pretty crazy Episode 4! All this against the backdrop of all-out corporate war.”

Season 3 won’t only be about conflict in Dark Matter’s corporatocracy, though. Last season Mallozzi and his writing team integrated such speculative topics as artificial sentience and alternate universes and we can expect to see other sci-fi tropes introduced into the show’s mythology in episodes to come. Mallozzi doesn’t go into details but when we asked if we’d be seeing time travel and aliens, he dropped some intriguing hints that suggest Dark Matter’s third season will take the show into uncharted territory.

“In direct response to your question, yes and yes,” he teases.

Dark Matter is expected to return to US and UK screens in 2017.

Mike Simpson is a British expat contributor based near Vancouver, Canada. He has a background as a professional scientist and is now an entertainment and technology journalist gleefully writing about sci-fi and other geek stuff.