Netflix’s #GeekedWeek event confirmed Shadow and Bone would return for a second outing. This year’s version of the event saw the cast reveal production for season 2 had officially wrapped.
That means we’ll hopefully get to see Jessie Mei Li’ Alina Starkov and co. back on our screens soon.
The second season will continue to adapt Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels, this time delving into the events of Siege and Storm and – finally – the heist storyline in Six of Crows. New cast members were recently announced too, with Jack Wolf joining as the Crows’ demolition expert Wylan, Patrick Gibson as Prince Nikolai Lantsov and Anna Leong Brophy and Lewis Tan as siblings Tamar and Tolya Yul-Bataar respectively.
The newcomers can be seen in the #GeekedWeek clip below discussing their characters alongside the Shadow and Bone cast, who teased “love, power and heartbreak” were all to come in season 2.
Shadow & Bone S2 is in the barrel ????To celebrate the end of production, the cast filmed a little #GeekedWeek treat for you all! pic.twitter.com/ELzrNTJjMy
— Shadow And Bone (@shadowandbone_) June 6, 2022
Excited yet? Read on for everything you need to know about Shadow and Bone season 2 below.
Shadow and Bone season 2 Netflix release date
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Season 2 has officially wrapped filming, though it’s unclear at this stage when we can expect it to land on Netflix.
Certainly, fans can expect to wait a while – filming on season 1 was concluded over a year before it aired on Netflix, and if fans can expect a similar timeline then we’re unlikely to see Shadow and Bone season 2 before late 2022.
With that said, it’s possible the coronavirus pandemic delayed the arrival of season 1, so it could be that season 2 would have a smoother (and quicker) postproduction process once filming does get underway.
In April 2021, showrunner Eric Heisserer told TVLine: “I want [the series] to run as long as it’s welcome and give life to these characters for as long as we don’t overstay that welcome. There’s so much material that Leigh has written, and there are so many compelling characters, I think this flagship show could last for four seasons. And then we could figure out if there’s a new space to live in with any of these people, or any part of the world that we want to spend more time with.”
The cast also thanks fans for helping summon season 2 into being. Perhaps they can also summon it onto the streamer soon?
Thank the Saints! Shadow and Bone has been renewed for a second season. pic.twitter.com/vH9rdTtkcq
— Shadow And Bone (@shadowandbone_) June 7, 2021
Shadow and Bone season 2 cast
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The main cast is all set to return, including Jessie Mei Li, Ben Barnes, Archie Renaux, Sujaya Dasgupta, Emily Head, Luke Pasqualino and Emily Head.
While the Crows (Kaz, Jesper and Inej, played by Freddy Carter, Kit Young and Amita Suman) don’t appear in Bardugo’s second Grisha novel, they also didn’t appear in the first – and it’s possible that season 2 would adapt their storyline from their first novel appearance Six of Crows.
“These worlds actually do crash into each other [later on] in the books, so it’s actually an organic thing to have these storylines cross over,” Bardugo told us.
“I think that’s the way that we’re going to approach it. The way I look at it is, it’s a kind of alternative timeline Grishaverse. This isn’t the way it played out in the books, but there’s a way to retain the heart of the story, the soul of the characters, and still give readers this very different approach to the world.”
In order to adapt the material, some fan-favourite and major roles have been cast. Ravkan Prince Nikolai Lantsov, who becomes a main character (and the lead of follow-up books King of Scars/Rule of Wolves), will be played by Patrick Gibson. Shu warriors Tolya and Tamar, who appear in several Grishaverse books themselves, will be played by Lewis Tan and Anna Leong Brophy.
And yes, the Crows’ demolition expert – and Jesper’s love interest – Wylan has also been cast, with Jack Wolf taking on the role.
Shadow and Bone season 2 trailer
Thank the Saints! Shadow and Bone has been renewed for a second season. pic.twitter.com/vH9rdTtkcq
— Shadow And Bone (@shadowandbone_) June 7, 2021
Sadly, we’re quite a long way away from a proper season 2 trailer. However, this page will be updated if and when that changes.
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Shadow and Bone season 2 plot
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We actually have a pretty good idea of what will happen in Shadow and Bone season 2, assuming it’s based on Bardugo’s second Grisha novel Siege and Storm just as season one was based on her first book Shadow and Bone.
Without giving too much away, the story is likely to see Alina and Mal’s attempts to lie low thwarted by the Darkling, who (as we saw at the end of season one) now has the ability to create an army of shadows whenever he pleases. This sparks off a civil war between those loyal to the Darkling and those loyal to the crown, with Alina pulled between both groups before a cataclysmic finale.
However, Leigh Bardugo has suggested that season 2 could also pull from other books in her series, just as season one pulled from her Six of Crows duology despite those books originally being set in a different time period.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up pulling some things from different books,” Bardugo told RadioTimes.com. “This is something that [showrunner Eric Heisserer] has done very well.”
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Specifically Bardugo noted that alongside Six of Crows, fans might expect material from novellas The Demon in the Wood and The Language of Thorns, as well as her most recent duology.
“Eric’s super-familiar with the entire canon, and so it’s made it possible to drop in things like The Demon in the Wood and The Language of Thorns and maybe even King of Scars, because there shouldn’t really be a limit within that universe,” she said.
“For season 2, I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I really, really do hope that we start delving into Six of Crows because it’s such an epic, fantastical book, and it’s very cinematic,” Amita Suman added.
“What they do is almost an impossible heist. I think that’s going to be so exciting to watch. Again, I don’t know what they’re planning, but because they did such a good job in terms of merging the two stories together in season 1, I fully trust them to do another fantastic job of telling both the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows stories.”
As for Mal star Archie Renaux, he told Glamour: “I’d like to see new lands explored and new countries within the Grishaverse.”
Shadow and Bone is streaming on Netflix now. Want something else to watch? Read our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix.
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