The Latest On The ‘Shadow and Bone’ Netflix Adaptation

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the beloved fictional world created by one of the most popular YA writers, Leigh Bardugo, the Grishaverse, is coming to Netflix! Back in April 2020, we rounded up what we knew then from casting and filming, but the release of the series is drawing near! Now both Bardugo and all the actors involved have been pretty tight-lipped on the matter, pushing the fandom into a frenzy (it was not unusual to see ‘we’re clowns’ posts and memes circulating on BookTwitter and Bookstagram) that finally broke when the announcement teaser dropped on December 17th, letting the viewers know that the show will drop in April 2021!

The thirty nine seconds long teaser artfully depicted a white stag (which is well-known to every fan of the Grisha trilogy) standing in a wintery forest in all its might, a crow passing with a loud caw (raise your hand if your Dregs-loving heart fluttered at the sight of it), and ended with what appears to be hands closing an antlers collar around a girls neck and a ball of light being extinguished. But the part that really sent the fans into new heights was Ben Barnes’s voiceover, speaking one of the Darkling’s infamous lines at the very end of the teaser, ‘You and I are going to change the world’.

We don’t have the exact date yet, but based on how Netflix usually operates, we can expect the trailer and the date of release to be announced closer to the release month, so likely in March (or if we get lucky, maybe late February!). There has been little news since the teaser bomb was dropped, but all the fans are hoping for some more promo material, behind-the-scenes shots, and everything that goes hand in hand with a big TV production before April.

JANUARY 27TH EDIT: We have first look photos and characters posters! I repeat, we have first look photos and characters posters!

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In Case You’ve Missed The announcement of The Series…

Now in case you have lived under a rock, here’s a little summary of what you’ve missed! The news that Bardugo’s books were being adapted dropped a little over two years ago and people were…excited, to say the least. Netflix and the series creator, showrunner, and writer, Eric Heisserer, made the wise decision of opting for more than one book series, so the show will include the storyline of the original Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and a short story collection that includes fairytales from the Grishaverse, The Language of Thorns.

The hype skyrocketed when the main cast was announced a couple of months later in October 2019, bringing in some beloved actors (such as the eternal heartthrob Ben Barnes) and some new faces.

Two of Shadow and Bone‘s very own, Jessie Mei Li, who will portray the Shadow and Bone heroine Alina Starkov, and Freddy Carter, the famous anti-hero of Six of Crows, were recently featured on the Decider‘s list of ‘Rising stars to watch for in 2021’, a nod towards the inevitable popularity of both the actors and the show. I think the die-hard book fans can congratulate ourselves once the show blows up and its cast becomes world-known, saying “We were here first”. And by here I mean stanning these amazing characters and the actors portraying them.

Cast News and Episode Titles

Some more actors also appeared on the official IMDB page for Shadow and Bone, including Deirdre Mullins (best known for The Dark Mile, My Name Is Emily, Man Down) who will portray a notable villain of the Six of Crows duology, Tante Heleen; Dan Li (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Black Mirror) as Bo Yul-Bayur, the Shu scientist; and George Parker (Pennyworth, Substitute) as prince Vasily, the older of the two Ravkan princes.

One of the things that started endless speculations and fan theories were of course the episode titles that just suddenly appeared on the shows IMDB page a couple of months back. There will be eight episodes in total in season one, and almost every single episode title alludes to something in the books. Let’s go through and shine some light on them (pun maybe intended), shall we?

Episode 1: A Searing Burst of Light
Now this title is a non-brainer to every fan of The Grisha Trilogy since our main girl, Alina Starkov, is a Sun summoner and her powers manifest suddenly as a searing burst of light. Smart, right? But since the three crows (Kaz, Inej, and Jesper) will appear in every single episode of season one, we’ll definitely start with the Dregs backstories as well. Quick, how do you think the storylines of two series will merge?

Episode 2: We’re All Someone’s Monster
This is one of the direct quotes from Six of Crows, spoken from Matthias to Nina, but since neither of the actors portraying these two characters (namely Calahan Skogman and Danielle Galligan) are currently listed under the episode’s cast, it’s not unreasonable to believe that this quote might be applied differently or not in the confines of their characters dynamic. 

Episode 3: The Making at the Heart of the World
A very Grisha title that, combined with the episode’s cast (featuring a few notable side characters from Shadow and Bone such as Genya, David, and Baghra), instantly alludes to this episode leaning more heavily on The Grisha Trilogy part of the adaptation. We’ll get to meet the royal family (minus their most dashing prince, Nikolai, who is not to appear in season one) and get to the Little Palace, the well-known residence of Grisha power.

Episode 4: Otkazat’sya
Otkazat’sya is a word commonly used in Ravkan (one of the languages of the Grishaverse) and means ‘abandoned, orphaned’, but it is also used by Grisha to refer to people without powers, the non-Grisha. The term was often used in the trilogy to describe Alina’s best friend since childhood, Mal Oretsev, and one of the main characters of the show. So we might learn more about his and Alina’s childhood? Am I looking too much into this? Maybe. Probably.

Episode 5: Show Me Who You Are
This is the only episode title that doesn’t come exactly from the books, which made the speculators run wild with theories based on the cast list that includes a lot of the trilogies characters, a big portion of the episode could be set in the palaces, but one character stands out: Bo Yul-Bayur. This Shu scientist is the main prize of the Six of Crows heist, so this episode could also mean we’ll get to learn more about parem, the insidious drug threatening the Grisha and one of the most important forces driving the Six of Crows plot.

Episode 6: The Heart Is An Arrow
If you are at least a little bit acquainted with the YA world then you must’ve stumbled upon this iconic quote before (the complete quote goes like this: The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true). This quote is of course connected with Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) so it is not a far stretch if we assume that we could learn more about the Wraith and her backstory in this episode. *fangirling begins*

Episode 7: The Unsea
The Unsea also known as the Shadow Fold, is a swath of darkness full of monsters (the volcra) that divides Ravka into two parts and that suddenly appeared one day, devouring the people who lived on that land. The Fold plays a major role throughout the Shadow and Bone trilogy so it’s safe to assume it’ll be big in the show as well. This episode is also the only episode that features Matthias Helvar (Calahan Skogman), one of the main characters of the duology, so we’ll probably be introduced to some new backstories and plotlines as well.

Episode 8: No Mourners
And last but not least, the creators of the show made a wise decision of ending the season with one of the most notable quotes of Six of Crows (No Mourners. No Funerals.), sending fans into a frenzy and making everyone wonder if the last episode will introduce us to the possibility of a heist in season two. The only two Dregs missing from this episode’s line up are of course Matthias and Wylan (who will not appear in season one), but that doesn’t mean that the clogs for heist planning cannot be put into place with this episode, since they are also the last two players to join the team for the Ice Court job (or will it be a different heist for the show? Only time – and maybe the trailer – will tell).

Episode 8 will also conclude the first season and once we’ve watched and rewatched (and re-re-rewatched the show), we can start waiting for season two. Based on the budget Netflix dedicated to Shadow and Bone, it would not be unreasonable to assume that season two is nearly a done deal. Now we just have to make everyone watch the show and guarantee ourselves many more seasons, conventions, and maybe a theme park or two. I mean how cool would it be to battle Grisha and go for an Ice Court themed ride? Pretty sweet, right?

April is so close!

The wait is almost over after more than two years since the announcement of the adaptation coming to Netflix was made. Now we only have to wait for April to come in all its moody Spring (or Autumn) glory and bring with it the most anticipated book to TV series adaptation of the recent years. And while we wait we can just scroll through the cast’s social media accounts for any tiny hints, berate Netflix to give us more, hope for some behind-the-scenes photos to drop, and rewatch the teaser announcement for the umpteenth time. Because to quote Kaz Brekker ‘When you can’t beat the odds change the game’. (A.k.a April is not that far off but we have been waiting for years. We need more than bread crumbs to sustain us).

So while we wait for that long-awaited trailer (and soon after, THE SHOW!! *cue screaming*) to finally drop, which scenes from the books are you hoping to see in the show? Which characters’ interactions? Tell us in the comments below!