Netflix has released the first trailer for its Grishaverse adaptation ‘Shadow and Bone’, set to premiere 23rd April on the streaming service.
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.
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.
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.
