Netflix has released the first teaser trailer and announced a release date for the highly anticipatedShadow and Boneshow, based on the book series by authorLeigh Bardugo. Netflix’sShadow and Boneactually combines two of Bardugo’s book series – the fantasy-adventure trilogyShadow and Boneand the duologySix of Crows, which chronologically takes place after the events ofShadow and Bonedespite being set in the same world.
The Netflix series takes place in a war-torn world where a lowly soldier and orphan named Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) has just unleashed an extraordinary power that could end up being the key to setting her country free. The threat of the monstrous Shadow Fold looms, so Alina upends her life as she knows it to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha, where she struggles to hone her power all while learning that allies and enemies can be one and the same – and nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the official synopsis portends, “it will take more than magic to survive.”
TheShadow and BoneNetflix show release date has been set for April 2021, so fans need only wait a few more months to see how this thing unfolds.
Eric Heisserer, the writer of the sci-fi filmArrival, is the showrunner and executive producer on the series whileLee Toland Krieger– who helmed the filmAge of Adalineand set the visual style for the CW seriesRiverdaleand Netflix’sChilling Adventures of Sabrina– is the primary director and an executive producer.
You can watch theShadow and Boneshow teaser trailer announcement below, but keep reading for more details on how this Netflix series combines theSix of CrowsandShadow and Bonestories and timelines.
For fans of the book series curious how theSix of Crowstimeline plays intoShadow and Bone, Heisserer explained in a statement to Netflix that for this series to work, they created new prequel stories for theSix of Crowscharacters:
“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 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.”
Rest assured, this was all done with the involvement of Bardugo, who is an executive producer on the series and further explained how they brought these two book series together:
“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. 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.”
Heisserer also teased that fans can expect certain characters who don’t meet in the books to cross paths in theShadow and Boneshow:
“I get most excited talking about certain characters meeting certain other characters — meetings that don’t happen in the books because they’re set on different timelines. But they happen in the show, and I believe those moments are meaningful.”
As for why theShadow and BoneNetflix series will appeal to both book fans and new fans alike, Bardugo explained:
“When they watch this show, audiences are going to encounter a world that feels fully realized — but that doesn’t feel like any place they’ve been before. When I was on set, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay in that world longer. This is a privilege that so few authors get, to see their worlds brought to life right in front of their eyes. When you start an endeavor like this, you don’t know what’s going to happen. To have your expectations surpassed, to see magic on top of magic, and to see things come to life in a way that is bigger and more beautiful than you ever could have hoped, it’s impossible to fathom.”
Stay tuned, folks. This could be the next big Netflix obsession. TheShadow and Boneshow is produced byShawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment and starsJessie Mei Li(Alina Starkov),Archie Renaux(Malyen Oretsev),Freddy Carter(Kaz Brekker),Amita Suman(Inej),Kit Young(Jesper Fahey), andBen Barnes(General Kirigan).
