‘Shadow & Bone’: Everything to Know

Shadow and Bone has got to be the biggest show coming out Spring 2021. The Netflix series promises to be a big budget adaptation of one of the most beloved fantasy series out there today, the Grishaverse. However, the project has also been steeped in tons of mystery…until now.

Staring in mid-December, Netflix started pulling back the curtain on creator Eric Heisseler’s adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse. We’ve gotten a Shadow and Bone release date, preview images, and as of February 26, one awesome teaser trailer. But what else do we know about Netflix’s Shadow and Bone so far?

Shadow and Bone is set in a lush fantasy world inspired by the twilight days of the Russian empire. Ravka is a huge nation blessed with the protection of superpowered soldiers known as “Grisha.” These sorcerers call their magic “the small science” and serve Ravka in the Second Army. The First Army of Ravka is entirely made up of what we would call “normies.” Orphans, farmers, hunters, and their like make up the all-too-human bulk of Ravka’s population and armed forces.

While Ravka faces threats from foreign powers, its biggest problem is the homegrown “Shadow Fold.” Centuries earlier, a Grisha known as the Black Heretic accidentally created a rift across the nation like a scar. Also known as “the Unsea,” the Shadow Fold is a mammoth expanse of death, darkness, and vicious monsters. The Unsea separated East and West Ravka, thus making crossing it vital to maintaining the nation’s trade and power.

Hurled into this strange world is the young First Army mapmaker Alina Starkhov (Jessie Mei Li). What she discovers will have monumental impact on the destiny of Ravka, and the Grishaverse world. So much so, Shadow and Bone will also deal with the fates of some gangsters in a far away merchant city called Ketterdam…

From the Darkling to keftas, to release dates and Six of Crows characters, here’s everything we know about Netflix’s Shadow and Bone so far…

WHEN WILL SHADOW AND BONE PREMIERE ON NETFLIX?

First thing’s first! Shadow and Bone has a premiere date!

Shadow and Bone Season 1 will premiere on Netflix on Friday, April 23, 2021.

As with all Netflix originals, you will be able to watch Shadow and Bone at 3 AM ET (or 12 AM PT) on April 23.

HOW MANY EPISODES ARE IN SHADOW AND BONE SEASON 1?

According to Netflix, there are eight (8) episodes in the first season of Shadow and Bone. 

WHO’S WHO IN THE SHADOW AND BONE CAST?

• Ben Barnes as General Kirigan, aka The Darkling, the Shadow Summoner and head of Ravka’s Second Army
• Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkhov, an orphan and mapmaker in Ravka’s First Army
• Archie Renaux as Malyen “Mal” Oretsev, another orphan and tracker in the First Army
• Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, a cunning gangster and con man in Ketterdam, Kerch
• Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa, aka The Wraith, a former Suli acrobat turned spy and assassin for Kaz Brekker
• Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, a sharpshooter, gambling addict, and ally of Kaz
• Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik, a Grisha Heartrender and spy
• Calahan Skogman as Mattias Helvar, a Fjerdan Druskelle, aka Grisha Hunter
• Daisy Head as Genya Safin, a uniquely talented Grisha tailor with the power to change people’s appearances
• Sujaya Dasgupta as Zoya Nazyalensky, a Squaller in the Second Army
• Simon Sears as Ivan, a Heartrender in the Second Army
• Zoe Wanamaker as Bagra, a Grisha mentor and tutor
• Luke Pasqualino as David Kostyk, a genius Grisha Fabrikator

While this list is by no means exhaustive, Leigh Bardugo fans might want to take note that the author herself has shared two fan favorites will NOT appear in Shadow and Bone Season 1: Nikolai and Wylan. We’ll dig into what that means for the show’s plot a little later…

HAS NETFLIX RELEASED A SHADOW AND BONE TRAILER?

Yes! First there was a Shadow and Bone teaser released in December. This atmospheric clip didn’t seem to give us actual show footage, but it did set up the vibe of the series. We get a glimpse at a certain legendary stag and hear Ben Barnes’s character uttering one of his more famous lines from the Bardugo novels: “You and I are going to change the world.”

On February 26, 2021, Netflix revealed the first full-length teaser trailer, which gave us our first look at the Shadow Fold, Alina’s powers, and the Crows in Ketterdam.

Finally, Netflix unveiled the first trailer for Shadow & Bone on March 30, 2021. This three-minute-long preview confirmed that the Crows would be one of the many parties on the hunt for Alina Starkov, while also teasing key moments from the novel for fans. You can watch it above.

IS BEN BARNES PLAYING THE DARKLING OR GENERAL KIRIGAN IN NETFLIX’S SHADOW AND BONE?

So it’s come to our attention that there’s been a little bit of confusion over Ben Barnes’s character’s name. Press releases call him General Kirigan while tweets from Shadow and Bone author Leigh Bardugo dub him “the Darkling.” In the words of an Oprah Winfrey gif that I love: “So what is the truth?”

Well, he’s both.

“The Darkling” is a sort of nickname/title given to Ravka’s Shadow Summoner. General Kirigan is the current Shadow Summoner and head of the Ravkan Second Army. He is the highest-ranking Grisha and possesses the power to literally summon darkness. It’s a huge talent, but does little to battle other darkness.

WHAT WILL THE KEFTAS LOOK LIKE IN NETFLIX’S SHADOW AND BONE?

Even though Netflix has given fans a lot of sneak peeks at Shadow and Bone, one key bit of costuming remains out of sight. Grisha are known as much for their incredible magical powers as they are for their fabulous keftas. These gown-like coats come in three key colors for the bulk of the Second Army:

• Red for Corporalki (Grisha with the powers to hurt or heal)
• Blue for Etherealki (Grisha with power over the elements of either wind, fire or water)
• Purple for Materialki (Grisha who can manipulate metals, potions, and matter)

While there are exceptions to this — the Darkling is dressed in black, for instance — the Grisha’s keftas are a signal of strength and ranking. They are also supposedly be bananas beautiful.

We don’t yet have a full look at the keftas, but if you look above, it looks like we can see some blue-clad Squallers standing behind Alina on a sandskiff. (WE THINK!) More importantly, that blue and gold scarf blowing around Alina’s neck certainly is suggestive of a certain outfit known to book readers…

HOW WILL THE SHADOW AND BONE SHOW DEAL WITH LEIGH BARDUGO’S BOOK, SIX OF CROWS?

Maybe the question driving Grishaverse fans the most insane during this whole waiting period is finding out how the Netflix show will juggle two very different books set in the world. Obviously, the bulk of the show will be focused on the events of Leigh Bardugo’s first installment in the series, which is conveniently titled Shadow and Bone. That book, and its two sequels, tell the story of Alina Starkhov, her pal Mal, and General Kirigin, aka the Darkling.

However Shadow and Bone‘s creator Eric Heisseler famously fell for the Grishaverse reading that trilogy’s sequel duology, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. Those books tell the very different tale of six charismatic criminals and the desperate heist they attempt to pull off.

Five of the six “Crows” will appear in Shadow and Bone Season 1 — Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Nina Zenik, and Matthias Helvar — but how? How are characters who don’t even team up until after Alina’s story comes to a close going to factor into this story now?!?

Netflix gave us our first tease how in the show’s preview images, which included a shot of Nina and Matthias during what is written as a flashback in the book Shadow and Bone. And for the rest of the Crows? Grishaverse creator Leigh Bardugo and Shadow and Bone showrunner Eric Heisseler have created a prequel heist for three of the most beloved Crows to embark upon in tandem with Alina’s story.

“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,” Heisseler explained in press notes Netflix shared with Decider. “So what Leigh 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 [show] storyline. That’s been the heavy lifting.”

Leigh Bardugo said, “We’ve taken the stories of [the novel] 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. And it wasn’t easy!”

“Eric took two fantasy series — with powers and creatures and horrors and heists — and molded them into this cohesive, incredible thing. I don’t think I could’ve been more lucky in the person that we found to hand the keys over to. It wasn’t just the keys to a book or one series, it was a whole world I had been working on for the better part of my career. I didn’t do it lightly. I trusted him and I was right to trust him,” Bardugo said.

Fans will have to wait to see how exactly this all pans out when Shadow and Bone premieres on Netflix on Friday, April 23, 2021.

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