Netflix is set to release Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse book series, Shadow and Bone in April 2021 on the platform globally. Here’s everything we know so far about the first season of Shadow and Bone.
A live-action series based on Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy-adventure series titles Shadow and Bone was commissioned by Netflix in January 2019 with Eric Heisserer serving as showrunner. Heisserer wrote screenplays for such productions as the Oscar-nominated Arrival, Bird Box, and The Thing remake.
Among the list of directors in the first season is Primetime Emmy nominee Jeremy Webb. The TV veteran has helmed episodes for series such as Doctor Who, The Umbrella Academy, The Punisher, Altered Carbon, and much more.
Showrunner Eric Heisserer and author Leigh Bardugo
Additionally, Game of Thrones and The Witcher language creator David J. Peterson has been tapped to create the fictional languages in the Grishaverse for Shadow and Bone.
Bardugo described the show for new viewers in a recent interview:
“Shadow and Bone takes place in a very different kind of fantasy world. Think Imperial Russia, not Medieval England, repeating rifles instead of broadswords. It’s a story about the people who have been told how much they don’t matter proving how much they do. And it’s been incredible to see that story take shape on such an epic scale, the battles, the magic, but also the relationships between the characters.”
When will Shadow and Bone be released on Netflix?
The first season of Shadow and Bone will officially be released on Netflix on April 23, 2021, as confirmed by Netflix:
There are dangerous forces and powerful magic at play in the world of Shadow and Bone. Enter the world of the Grishaverse on April 23, 2021
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) January 27, 2021
What is the plot of Shadow and Bone?
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone will adapt two overlapping series in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, Shadow and Bone, and Six of Crows. The story is set in a world that is split in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, where unnatural creatures feast on human flesh.
The plot of Shadow and Bone will follow Alina Starkov, a young soldier and a citizen of the Russia-inspired Kingdom of Ravka. She unexpectedly uncovers a power that might save her best friend and finally unite her country. As she starts to hone it, dangerous forces unite against her and only General Kirigan seems to be willing to help.
Although the Netflix adaptation is based on the books, it will massively differ from them, according to author Leigh Bardugo:
“The show will be radically different from the books. But in the most amazing way. Will be pretty much a high budget fan fiction.”
In December showrunner Eric Heisserer commented on this in details:
“The books are all set chronologically, so we technically don’t get to events in the Six of Crows books until after the Shadow and Bone books have ended. So what Leigh [Bardugo] and I had to do was essentially invent prequel stories for the key Six of Crows characters this season — Kaz, Inej, and Jesper — to fit alongside what is happening in the Shadow and Bone storyline. That’s been the heavy lifting.”
Leigh Bardugo added her comments about the creative process in a recent interview:
“We’ve taken the stories of Shadow and Bone and the characters of Six of Crows and we’ve brought them together in what I think will be a really unexpected way. Eric and our writers’ room and our directors have built something entirely new that still somehow stays true to the characters and to the heart of the stories.”
Who is cast in Shadow and Bone?
Here’s who has been confirmed to star in Shadow and Bone and their respective roles:
- Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov
- Ben Barnes as General Kirigan aka The Darkling
- Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker aka Dirtyhands
- Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev
- Kit Young as Jesper Fahey
- Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar
- Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik
- Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa
- Sujaya Dasgupta as Zoya Nazyalensky
- Daisy Head as Genya Safin
Here’s a first look at the cast and their characters from Entertainment Weekly along with comments from Eric Heisserer and Leigh Bardugo in the captions:
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- JESSIE MEI LI as ALINA STARKOV. “I love this photo because you see Alina in the moment right before her life is really about to change.”
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- BEN BARNES as THE DARKLING / GENERAL KIRIGAN. “He’s not immortal, but he is so powerful that he borders on immortal. Ben has this wonderful ageless quality that works beautifully.”
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- ARCHIE RENAUX as MALYEN ORETSEV and JESSIE MEI LI as ALINA STARKOV. “They grew up together at an orphanage and it’s only that they’re being drafted into the First Army that they’re being separated. So when they reunite, as we see this picture, there’s a lot of love and camaraderie there.”
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- ARCHIE RENAUX as MALYEN ORETSEV. “He’s a tracker in the First Army,”
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- KIT YOUNG as JESPER FAHEY, AMITA SUMAN as INEJ GHAFA and FREDDY CARTER as KAZ BREKKER. “These are three of our Crows, a criminal element who have a mission all their own. How it dovetails in with the storyline I hope will be very exciting for our fans. Jasper is an accomplished gunslinger, he’s an amazing crackshot. Kaz [on the right] is the mastermind of the crew and he’s like a much less suave and much more violent Danny Ocean.”
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- AMITA SUMAN as INEJ GHAFA. “Inej is very good at being quiet and with knives – she carries around 14 knives. “She’s an assassin,” Bardugo says. You don’t want to mess with this woman. She has a knife in her hand and she’s got plenty more to back those up.”
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- DANIELLE GALLIGAN as NINA ZENIK and CALAHAN SKOGMAN as MATTHAIS. “Nina is a Grisha spy and Matthias is a member of the Fjerda, an enemy country north of Ravka and understandably have a lot of hate towards the Grisha because they present an actual threat,” Bardugo says. “He and Nina are on a bit of a collision course.”
What’s the production status on Shadow and Bone?
Production on the first season Netflix’s Shadow and Bone started in October 2019 and wrapped in February 2020, just before the worldwide production shutdown. The first season is currently in post-production.
The cast of Shadow and Bone dropped a video message on the series official twitter account the day filming wrapped:
Shadow and Bone has officially wrapped production and a few friends would like to wish you a warm welcome to the Grishaverse… pic.twitter.com/RjU66NiUmj
— Shadow And Bone (@shadowandbone_) February 28, 2020
And take a look at these behind-the-scenes photos (thanks to @GrishaNetflixTV):
In August 2020, we learned that Shadow and Bone had some additional filming to do with the “Vancouver unit” to do some additional photography. The scheduled dates for that took place between September 28th to October 9th, 2020 in Vancouver.
How many episodes will the first season debut?
It has been confirmed that the first season of Shadow and Bone will consist of eight episodes.
The episode titles have also been revealed for the series and their order is known as well:
At the time of writing we only know the order of two episodes, one and five:
- Episode 1: A Searing Burst of Light
- Episode 2: We’re All Someone’s Monster
- Episode 3: The Making at the Heart of the World
- Episode 4: Otkazat’sya (“Refuse” in Russian)
- Episode 5: Show Me Who You Are
- Episode 6: The Heart is an Arrow
- Episode 7: The Unsea
- Episode 8: No Mourners
The directors involved for season one of Shadow and Bone include:
- Mairzee Almas
- Lee Toland Krieger
- Dan Liu
- Jeremy Webb
- Eric Heisserer
Are you looking forward to the release of Shadow and Bone season one on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
