Netflix releases Shadow and Bone extended teaser and announces release date

Netflix unexpectedly released an extended teaser trailer for its next fantasy series Shadow and Bone during panel at IGN Fan Fest. The long-awaited series is an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s best-selling books “Grishaverse” and opens on April 23.

(Light spoilers for the books below).

Bardugo posted Shadow and Bone, the first in a trilogy, in June 2012, followed by Siege and storm in 2013 and Ruin and Ascension in 2014. She told Entertainment Weekly in 2012 that she deliberately avoided the usual medieval fantasy motifs and was inspired by the Russian Empire in the early 19th century. “As much as I love swords and jugs of beer – and believe me, I do – I wanted to take readers to a slightly different place,” she said. “Tsarist Russia gave me a different starting point.”

The inspiration for the menacing Shadow Fold – the Big Bad in the trilogy – came from his decision not to treat “darkness” metaphorically, but literally. “What if darkness was a place?” she said. “What if the lurking monsters were real and more horrible than anything you ever imagined under your bed or behind the closet door? What if you had to fight them on your own territory, blind and helpless in the dark? These ideas eventually became the Shadowfold. “

At the Shadow and Bone, orphaned teenager Alina Starkov of the Kingdom of Ravka is sent on an expedition across the Non-Sea (also known as Dobra) to bring provisions for her wealthy patron. Her best friend, Malyen “Mal” Oretsev, is also on the expedition. When the monsters that inhabit Unsea (called volcra) attack, Alina saves the day thanks to previously unsuspected “Grisha” powers – people who can manipulate the elements like weapons. This catches the attention of Grisha leader, The Darkling, who takes her to the city of Os Alta, where she begins to train with other Grisha to control her powers. But her tutor, Baghra, warns Alina that the Darkling is unreliable, and many harrowing adventures follow.

In 2015, Bardugo published Six of Crows, followed by a sequence, Crooked Kingdom, The following year. The Hollywood Reporter described the duology as “a mixture of Ocean 11 and War of Thrones. “These books are set in the 17th century equivalent of the Dutch Republic. Teenager Kaz Brekker, also known as” Dirthyhands “, is a thief from the city of Ketterdam, who is hired to rescue a scientist from a fortress known as the Ice Court. He recruits members of his street gang, the Dregs, to help him, given the difficulty of the robbery, and again, many harrowing adventures follow.

The Netflix adaptation is supposed to cover events in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and serve as a prequel to the Six of Crows duology. Eric Heisserer (Arrival) leads the project as creator and showrunner, and language expert (“conlanger”) David J. Peterson (Game of Thrones, Doctor Strange, Thor: The Dark World) and Christian Thalmann, who helped Bardugo develop the fictional languages ​​of his novels Grishaverse, will be a consultant on the series. Bardugo herself is an executive producer. According to the official premise:

Shadow and Bone finds us in a world torn by war, where the humble soldier and orphan Alina Starkov has just released an extraordinary power that may be the key to liberating his country. With the monstrous Shadowfold threat 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 improve her power, she discovers that allies and enemies can be the same and that nothing in this luxurious 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.

Jessie Mei Li (Last night in Soho) star like Alina Starkov, Ben Barnes (Westworld, The Punisher) plays General Kirigan, also known as The Darkling, Archie Renaux (Hanna, the gold digger) plays Mal, and Zoe Wanamaker (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) plays Baghra, Alina’s tutor and Darkling’s mother. There are also several characters from Six of Crows who will appear in this first season: master thief Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter, Pennyworth); acrobat and knife expert Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman, Doctor who, The Outpost); sniper Jesper Fahey (Kit Young, Property), former brothel worker and “Heartrender” Nina Zenik (Danielle Galligan, War of Thrones), and former witch hunter Matthias Helvar (Calahan Skogman). Two main characters of the Six of Crows duology will not appear in this first season: Nikolai Lantsov and Wylan Van Eck, son of a merchant and demolition specialist.

Shadow and Bone premieres on Netflix on April 23, 2021.

List image via YouTube / Netflix