Shadow and Bone is Coming on Netflix This April 23rd

Shadow and Bone is Coming on Netflix This April 23rd

Pop Culture

April 23, 2021

If you are a book reader like me, you might have gone crazy after reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bartugo when it first came in 2012 and immediately became a bestseller. You might have also been waiting for a movie adaption ever since wanting to see characters like Nikolai, Darkling and Alina on screen. Luckily for you, Netflix decided to adapt Shadow and Bone and the follow-up boom series 'Six Of Crows' in a tv series.

A book reader or not, everyone is going to love this upcoming fantasy tv show 'Shadow And Bone' to be premiered on Netflix on April 23, 2021. Keep reading to know everything from cast to trailers about the show.

What is it about?

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Trailers and more

Netflix released the teaser trailer of the series 2 months ago. Watch it below!

https://youtu.be/UHJYYd_RnJc

Watch the official trailer to get chills on your arms right below!

https://youtu.be/b1WHQTbJ7vE

Meet The Cast

1. Jessie Mei Li plays Alina Starkov

As a teenager, Alina is described as a sickly, skinny girl with dull brown hair, dark circles under her eyes, and sallow skin. Her ethnicity is not explicitly described in the books, but she is generally understood to have either Ravkan or mixed Shu-Ravkan ancestry.

Jessie Mei Li is an English actor. Her stage work includes the 2019 production of All About Eve. Li uses she/her and they/them pronouns.

2. Ben Barnes plays General Kirigan/The Darkling

General Kirigan, also known as the Darkling, is the head of the Grisha Army and is a mysterious, powerful figure. He is the only person capable of summoning darkness and has become a deeply isolated figure – until he meets Alina, who he takes under his wing.

Barnes is no stranger to big-budget fantasy, having first shot to prominence as Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. He's also starred as Logan Delos on Westworld and Billy Russo/Jigsaw in The Punisher, while he played the role of Benjamin Greene on the 2019 BBC One drama Gold Digger.

3. Freddy Carter plays Kaz Brekker

The fan-favorite, Kaz is a member of the Dregs, otherwise known as the Crows – a street gang in Ketterdam. He is the leader of the group, and something of a criminal mastermind, which has made the Crows one of the biggest and most ambitious gangs around. He is sometimes known as Dirtyhands thanks to his willingness to take on any job or mission regardless of how dangerous it might be.

Carter starred as Peter "Pin" Hawthorne on the Netflix drama Free Rein and its two spin-off films. He's also appeared in three episodes of Pennyworth and had a very minor role in Wonder Woman.

4. Amita Suman plays Inej Ghafa

Inej is another member of the Crows and serves as Kaz's right-hand woman. She is a trained acrobat of Suli background and is a master spy, with incredible reflexes and knife skills – earning her the nickname The Wraith. Despite her daring nature, she has a strong moral compass, and if ever there is a task that she feels crosses the line, she is unwilling to take it on.

Suman's most prominent role so far is playing Naya in the CW fantasy series The Outpost, while she also had a major role in the Doctor Who series 11 episode Demons of the Punjab as Umbreen.

4. Kit Young plays Jesper Fahey

Sharpshooter Jesper is the Dregs' resident maverick – always up for a joke and prone to the odd gambling binge. When he needs to be relied on, however, he often delivers: he's famed for his near-perfect aim no matter what the circumstance. He is also secretly a Durast (a form of Grisha), but a childhood trauma stops him from using his powers.

5. Archie Renaux plays Malyen Oretsev

Mal grew up in the same orphanage as Alina and has been her long-term best friend, but is separated from her after she is sent away to Os Olta. He is a gifted soldier and is determined to keep his friendship with Alina alive even after they have gone down separate paths.

Archie starred in BBC One drama Gold Digger in 2019, playing Leo Day. He has also appeared in one episode of Hanna and has been cast in the upcoming films Voyagers and Morbius.

6. Danielle Galligan plays Nina Zenik

A Ravkan Heartrender who now lives in Ketterdam and has been known to work with the Dregs, Nina is a loyal and compassionate person – but can also be ruthless when required. She was previously captured by Matthias Helvar while carrying out a mission.

7. Calahan Skogman plays Matthias Helvar

A Fjerdan Drüskelle soldier and Grisha-hunter, Matthias captured Nina because his people are suspicious of witchcraft and believe that all Grisha should be destroyed, however, he now resides in a Ketterdam prison. On the surface, he is uptight and not the friendliest, but there's a softer side to him as well.

The cast also includes Daisy Head who plays Genya Safin, Sujaya Dasgupta as Zoya Nazyalensky, Zoë Wanamaker as Baghra, Kevin Eldon (Brass Eye) as The Apparat, Julian Kostov (A Discovery of Witches) as Fedyor Kaminsky, Simon Sears (Ride Upon the Storm) as Ivan, Gabrielle Brooks as Nadia Zhabin, Jasmine Blackborow as Marie, Angus Castle-Doughty as Mikhael, Caroline Boulton as Petya and Jimmy Clark as Tofin.

How will the timelines work together?

Six of Crows is supposed to take place two years after the Shadow and Bone series ended. Some characters from the latter appear again in Six Of Crows Duology, and some characters from Six Of Crows are inspired by Shadow and Bone Trilogy. Naturally, we are had one question in mind. How will the timelines be merged?

Luckily, we got our answers. “It wasn’t easy!” book author and series executive producer Leigh Bardugo said in a Netflix interview released in December. “Eric took two fantasy series — with powers and creatures and horrors and heists — and moulded them into this cohesive, incredible thing. I don’t think I could’ve been luckier 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.”

“What Leigh and I had to do,” said Heisserer in the same interview, “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.”

“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,” said Bardugo in that same Netflix interview. “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.”

This way, the story will remain exciting for both who have and haven't read the book.

You can watch the video below to know more about the series from the cast themselves!

That pretty much covers everything that is revealed on Netflix until now. Shadow And Bone will be available to watch on 23 April 2021. Only on Netflix! No mourners, no funerals!

*All images used are exclusive stills from Netflix. We do not own them.

Khushi Gupta
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Khushi is the Community Lead of The Teen Magazine. She is a 19-year-old who also calls herself a professional procrastinator. You'll probably find her eating baked goodies or re-reading the Percy Jackson series for the hundredth time. She likes reading, yoga, and skincare. She is usually an introvert, but once you get to know her personally, you'll meet a goofier version of her. She came across The Teen Magazine at the start of 2019 and has loved working here ever since.

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