Netflix is jumping back into the fantasy game with Shadow and Bone, a brand-new series based on the “Grishaverse” novels by Leigh Bardugo (Rule of Wolves), according to Entertainment Weekly. Despite the fact that the international streaming giant shared handful of character photos with Entertainment Weekly in January 2021, a majority of people online are getting their first looks at the teen-centric series via its first trailer, which was uploaded to the official Netflix YouTube channel on February 25. Get your first look at the magical world of Shadow and Bone below:
Shadow and Bone rests firmly in the lineage of fantasy adventures about extraordinary powers being thrust upon an unassuming child coming of age in a troubled world: “Teen orphan Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li, Last Night in Soho) of the Kingdom of Ravka is sent on an expedition across the Unsea to bring back provisions for her wealthy patron [with] her best friend Malyen ‘Mal’ Oretsev (Archie Renaux, Gold Digger)… When monsters inhabiting the Unsea attack, Alina saves the day thanks to previously unsuspected ‘Grisha’ powers,” via Ars Technica. These powers allegedly bring her into contact with General Kirigan (Ben Barnes, The Punisher), who recruits Alina for his magical militia, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
The brief appearance of the Dregs, a charming underworld street gang, in the trailer has stirred up a great deal of excitement online. The Dregs allegedly do not appear in the original trilogy of Shadow and Bone novels. Their story is actually the focus of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, a pair of novels written by Bardugo that share timeline with her first three books.
Shadow and Bone showrunner Eric Heisserer (Arrival) hinted that the way in which the Netflix series merges Alina’s story and the Dregs’ degenerate antics merge is one of its biggest surprises: “[The Dregs] have mission all their own. How it dovetails in with the [Grisha trilogy] storyline I hope will be very exciting for our fans,” via Entertainment Weekly. During a remotely conducted panel discussion about the upcoming series at IGN FanFest 2021, Bardugo herself had positive words to share about the experience of re-envisioning the universe these two groups of characters share via newly invented encounters. “I’ve seen the way that something new can… provide new way of letting these characters interact, and I think that’s something special because… the books will always have their life, but I think for people who have read the books, this is much more thrilling than a page-by-page, super literal adaptation,” Bardugo asserted, via IGN. You can check out the entire panel, featuring appearances from Bardugo, Heisserer, Li, Renaux, Barnes and others, below:
Shadow and Bone arrives on Netflix on April 23. Bardugo’s original trilogy of novels, as well as the Dregs’ Six of Crows duology, are available to purchase via most major book retailers.