Last we heard of period favorite The Knick, director Steven Soderbergh seemed ready to step down if Cinemax opted to press forward with a third and fourth season. There’s still no official word if The Knick will return, or in what capacity just yet, but now Soderbergh might return behind the camera after all, promising a “pretty extreme” third season.

Take this all with a grain of salt for the moment, as The Knick writer-creators Jack Amiel and Michael Begler have only begun discussions with Cinemax of a potential third and fourth season (similar to how the first two were handled in tandem), but Soderbergh tells Vox of his interest in returning:

If we can achieve what I’m hoping, story-wise, then I’d like to keep going. What I hope will happen is that we will figure something out that I feel like, ‘I have to do this’ … We always envisioned The Knick in two-year increments with the idea of annihilating what came before every two years. What we’re trying to do now — I just met with [writers and creators Jack Amiel and Michael Begler] yesterday — is build our idea of what three and four might look like to get ready to present to everybody. It’s pretty extreme, but I think it should be.

Of course, given the fate of Clive Owen’s Dr. Thackery in the Season 2 finale, it seems unlikely the actor would return, even if The Knick forgoes a drastic shakeup:

I don’t know yet. There’s been a lot of discussion about if we switch time periods can we still bring back the cast but have them play other people. Everything’s on the table.

Cinemax will likely soon make a decision on The Knick’s future, but will Soderbergh commit as well? What could a new Knick look like?