Article contributed by Tessa Qi
After months and months of painful waiting, we finally have a trailer! Okay so let’s be honest here, who else screamed the entire 2:41 minutes when watching the Shadow and Bone teaser trailer? I, for one, am not ashamed to say that I rewatched the whole trailer probably more than 10 times in the first hour that it came out… Whilst we still remain excited over the trailer, let’s dive into it a bit more and see what we are able to pick up in this teaser!
Before we get into it, I have to say that the trailer is way better that I had anticipated. It is honestly EPIC and by the looks of it, fans of the original book series will not be disappointed by this trailer (fingers crossed it stays this way throughout the whole series) and having Leigh herself as an executive producer must have its benefits! Even for those who have not read the books, they would still be blown away by the amazing and dramatic events happening within the trailer. The cast crew is the best and they obviously nailed the casting choices because this is a rare occasion where I liked every single one of the cast members before I’ve actually seen the film/series. Each and every one of them is the exact image of what I had imagined them to be when I was reading the books!
So, moving on to the actual trailer, we are blessed with Ben Barnes’ seductive voice at the beginning introducing us to the Shadow Fold: ‘The Shadow Fold, a scar on the map, that tore our country in two’ (honestly I have memorised every single line in the trailer by now). We see Alina (Jessie May Li) and Mal (Archie Renaux) packed and ready right before they enter the fold.
After entering the fold, they encounter creatures known as The Volcra, who feed on human flesh and can smell human blood from miles away. Chaos rained down upon them, and Mal’s life was hanging on the edge, Alina helplessly staring around them. ‘The only way to save them would be a miracle’. A blinding burst of light suddenly emerges, surrounding the ship in sunlight and killing the volcra in the meantime. The light here looks blue, doesn’t it?
Scene change, and Alina is seen taken to General Kirigan AKA The Darkling (played by the strikingly handsome Ben Barnes and the perfect image of the Darkling), the Grisha leader of the Second Army. We see the Darkling questioning Alina about the true nature of herself and using physical pain as an attempt to reveal the sun power inside of her.
Up till now, everything is almost exactly the same as the first few chapters of Shadow and Bone in the Grisha Trilogy. Everything was PERFECT.
Continuing on, we catch more glimpses of Alina’s power, then Alina is taken away while Mal runs and shouts after her, and theres battle scenes involving the Second Army. And we even have a scene introducing Genya, played by the amazing Daisy Head!
Jesper (Kit Young) with his revolvers, Kaz (Freddy Carter) with his crow-headed cane, and Inej (Amita Suman) being Inej with stealth and power embodied.If you haven’t watched the cast with Fan Fest where they break down the trailer and include some interesting stories behind the scenes, make sure to go check it out. During the panel, the cast explain that because most of the stuff that the Crows did in the show were quite spoilery, they didn’t include much in the trailer!
The last scene and definitely the most memorable one was when Alina and The Darkling made a show of their powers at the Winter Fete, with The Darkling summoning up darkness and Alina surrounding them with sunlight. The Darkling’s last words still ringing in our ears, ‘you and I are going to change the world’!
Well, as far as the trailer goes, everything looks amazing! Since the series is based on both the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, there definitely would be some changes to it, but don’t let that put you off. We are still able to go on a thrilling journey within the Grishaverse with some of our beloved characters and I know that it would not be a disappointment!
Mark your calendars and clear out your schedules as Shadow and Bone will be arriving exclusively on Netflix on April 23rd 2021.
