Netflix’s Shadow and Bone has secured its ensemble cast. The forthcoming fantasy series is based on Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone book, which is actually the first installment in her Grisha trilogy, as well as Six of Crows. Both stories have their own distinct storylines in the same magical universe. The Shadow and Bone novel follows Alina Starkov, a teen orphan who possesses the Grisha talent of summoning light. She’s a soldier who wants to use her power to bring peace but there are constant dangers working against her mission. Six of Crows also has a young protagonist named Kaz – a criminal genius who works with a team to pull off an extremely dangerous (and lucrative) rescue mission.
Netflix’s See What’s Next Twitter account dropped a picture of the cast and detailed each person’s role in the series. Newcomer Jessie Mei Li will lead the series as Alina alongside The Punisher alum Ben Barnes as General Kirigan. Joining the pair are Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev, Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, and Amita Suman as Inej. Kaz, Inej, and Jesper all hail from the Six of Crows novel; it looks like two of the Grishaverse’s biggest teen heroes will come together for one adventure.
Bardugo will serve as an executive producer alongside showrunner Eric Heisserer. The latter is known for his recent work on the streaming service’s big hit Bird Box as well as Final Destination 5 and The Thing’s prequel. Shadow and Bone has just started its photography and filming process so there’s no word on a release date at this time. Fans of the series are surely excited to see this world come to life.
Bardugo stirred up speculation among her Twitter followers by reminding them that the infamous Darkling has many names. There will be changes to the book’s origin story, obviously. So who knows what new characters and twists will arise in the TV show. Honestly, Ben Barnes has proven his ability to bring a great antagonist to life.
The full character breakdown. A reminder to my readers, the Darkling has had many names. https://t.co/cOYqcyUsBG
— Leigh Bardugo (@LBardugo) October 2, 2019
The author posted a follow-up to assure everyone that more cast information is coming later and confirm that Nikolai will not be in Season 1. This statement implies that there will be multiple seasons of Shadow and Bone but Netflix hasn’t confirmed this yet. Perhaps Bardugo has secured a multi-season deal with Netflix to include her entire trilogy along with the Six of Crows story.
I know you guys were hoping to see the full cast—this is just round one. More to come when we’re free to reveal it. Please be patient. And just to ease your pain: Nikolai is not in Season 1. Now let’s go celebrate because this magic is really happening ✨??
— Leigh Bardugo (@LBardugo) October 2, 2019
Bardugo seems to be heavily involved in this live-action adaptation, so hopefully it will exceed her loyal readers’ wildest expectations.
Image Credit: Square Fish