Home TV News Ben Barnes, Jessie Mei Li, Amita Suman, Kit Young & More Join Netflix Grishaverse Adaptation ‘Shadow and Bone’

Ben Barnes, Jessie Mei Li, Amita Suman, Kit Young & More Join Netflix Grishaverse Adaptation ‘Shadow and Bone’

by Dave Elliott

Ben Barnes, Jessie Mei Li, Amita Suman, Kit Young & More Join Netflix Grishaverse Adaptation ‘Shadow and Bone’

Netflix has announced a host of new casting for Shadow and Bone, their eight-part adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse fantasy novels.

In a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, where unnatural creatures feast on human flesh, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. Thugs, thieves, assassins and saints are at war now, and it will take more than magic to survive.

Relative newcomer Jessie Mei Li takes the role of the orphan soldier Alina Starkov, whilst ‘Westworld’ and ‘The Punisher’ star Ben Barnes is set to General Kirigan, the commander of a magical military elite, whilst Archie Renaux (‘Gold Digger’) portrays Malyen Oretsev, Alina’s childhood best friend, a former soldier of the First Army. They are joined by Freddy Carter (‘Free Rein’, ‘Pennyworth’) as Kaz Brekker, Amita Suman (‘The Outpost’, ‘Doctor Who’) as Inej, and Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, who are members of criminal underworld gang “The Dregs”. For fans of the books, I know there are more to these characters than that basic description, but I don’t want to give away spoilers for those that haven’t read them!

Additional cast includes Sujaya Dasgupta (‘Press’, ‘Casualty’), Danielle Galligan (‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Krypton’), Daisy Head (‘Harlots’, ‘Girlfriends’) and Simon Sears (‘Ride Upon the Storm’).

“I was so wary going into this process because these characters have lived in my head for so long,” comments author and exec producer Bardugo. “Turns out I had nothing to fear. Watching these actors begin to inhabit these roles has been pure magic.”

The series comes from Eric Heisserer (‘Bird Box’, ‘Arrival’) who adapts the novels and serve as showrunner. The story uses characters and elements of both ‘Shadow and Bone’ and ‘Six of Crows’, the two overlapping novels that take place in Bardugo’s Grishaverse. The drama reunites Heisserer with 21 Laps (‘Stranger Things’), who produced his Oscar-nominated film ‘Arrival’. Pouya Shahbazian (the ‘Divergent’ series) also serves as an executive producer.

Shadow and Bone‘ Season 1 is expected to premiere on Netflix in 2020.

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