'The Expanse' showrunner says season 5 sets up a series ending, but that he'd be interested in keeping the show going beyond season 6

• Amazon's "The Expanse" season five finale debuted on Wednesday.
• Showrunner Naren Shankar talked to Insider about how the finale sets up the next and final season.

Warning: This story contains spoilers for "The Expanse" season five finale.

Amazon's sci-fi series "The Expanse" knows a thing or two about endings - and revivals.

The show was canceled at its original home Syfy in 2018 after three seasons but revived by Amazon after fans rallied for a streamer to save it. And in November, ahead of the fifth season premiere in December, Amazon announced it renewed "The Expanse" for a sixth and final season.

During an interview ahead of the season five finale on Wednesday, "The Expanse" showrunner Naren Shankar told Insider that "if there's a chance to do more" after season six, he'll take it. After all, each season has closely followed the novels the show is based on (by authors Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck) and a ninth installment hits book shelves this year.

But he said that's a question for the show's production company, Alcon Entertainment. Right now, Shankar is focused on the final season, which he said began filming last week.

Even if "The Expanse" is done for good after season six, season five sets up a clear conclusion. Shankar said that the sixth novel, "Babylon's Ashes," is "an ending of sorts."

"Books five and six are one story," Shankar said. "Each novel before them had an individual shape, but five is the beginning of a war story and six is a war story."

One main character did meet the ultimate end in Wednesday's season five finale: the pilot Alex Kamal, played by Cas Anvar, dies during a mission to rescue Naomi.

Alcon launched an independent investigation into claims of sexual harassment and assault against Anvar in June. Anvar denied the allegations, but was removed from the series. Amazon did not return a request for comment on his removal.

Kamal is still alive in the "Expanse" novels, but Shankar noted that while the series has used the books as a template, the show has strayed creatively before. Fred Johnson, played by Chad Coleman, dies in a "very different way later in the books" than how he does in season five, Shankar said.

And Kamal's death on the show "raises the stakes" for the final season, Shankar said.

"The problem in some sci fi is 'plot armor,'" Shankar said. "Main characters feel safe. It was appropriate to make the characters' struggles have an incredibly poignant cost ... that idea of loss hangs over season six."