‘Shadow and Bone’: Netflix Releases “First Look” Photos & April Premiere Date For Grishaverse Adaptation
Netflix has announced its foray into the Grishaverse with new series ‘Shadow and Bone’ will premiere this April, and to help whet your appetite, they have released a stack of “first look” photos and character posters.
Based on Leigh Bardugo’s worldwide bestselling Grishaverse novels, ‘Shadow and Bone’ finds us in a war-torn world where lowly soldier and orphan Alina Starkov has just unleashed an extraordinary power that could be the key to setting her country free. With the monstrous threat of the Shadow Fold looming, Alina is torn from everything she knows to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha. But as she struggles to hone her power, she finds that allies and enemies can be one and the same and that nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. There are dangerous forces at play, including a crew of charismatic criminals, and it will take more than magic to survive.
“Shadow and Bone takes place in a very different kind of fantasy world,” comments author and exec producer Leigh Bardugo. “Think Imperial Russia, not Medieval England, repeating rifles instead of broadswords. It’s a story about the people who have been told how much they don’t matter proving how much they do. And it’s been incredible to see that story take shape on such an epic scale, the battles, the magic, but also the relationships between the characters. These photos give just a tiny hint at what’s in store—a mapmaker with an extraordinary gift, the people who want to use her, the tracker who will do anything to protect her, and the team of thugs and thieves who are about to cause some very big trouble for everyone involved.”
Newcomer Jessie Mei Li stars as Alina Starkov, with Archie Renaux (‘Gold Digger’) as Malyen Oretsev – Alina’s childhood best friend and former soldier of the First Army, alongside 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!) ‘Westworld’ & ‘The Punisher’ star Ben Barnes plays General Kirigan, commander of a magical military elite.
“These photos offer a glimpse into the expansive, textured world Leigh created in her books,” adds showrunner and exec producer Eric Heisserer. “We worked tirelessly to craft a lived-in feel for fictional lands like Ketterdam and Ravka, with invented languages, uniforms, currency, and artistic choices from set design to costuming. You’re immersed in the Grishaverse when you read, and it’s our hope that both new and existing fans have that same feeling when they watch the show. The series has an incredibly passionate fanbase and we can’t wait for new people to discover the magic that is Shadow and Bone.”
The series is written by Eric Heisserer (‘Bird Box’, ‘Arrival’) who adapted the novels and serve as showrunner and exec producer. The story uses characters and elements of both ‘Shadow and Bone’ and ‘Six of Crows’, 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) serves as an executive producer, along with author Leigh Bardugo, and director Lee Toland Krieger (‘You’, ‘Prodigal Son’, ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’). Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen and Josh Barry exec producer for 21 Laps Entertainment.
‘Shadow and Bone‘ Season 1 premieres Friday, 23rd April 2021 on Netflix UK and worldwide.
