Netflix's Shadow and Bone adaptation reveals premiere date, series details

The world is about to change. Netflix's upcoming Shadow and Bone series — an adaptation of author Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy and her Six of Crows duology — was announced last year, and on Thursday released a short teaser video revealing when fans can expect to see it: April 2021.

In a statement from Netflix, Bardugo and showrunner Eric Heisserer (Arrival) revealed a few interesting details about the series as well. Since the Grisha books and Six of Crows are set in the same universe, Shadow and Bone is adapting them both at the same time. But since they're on different timelines, this approach means viewers will see new sides of characters.

"The books are all set chronologically, so we technically don't get to events in the Six of Crows books until after the Shadow and Bone books have ended," Heisserer said in the statement. "So what Leigh and I had to do was essentially invent prequel stories for the key Six of Crows characters this season — Kaz, Inej, and Jesper — to fit alongside what is happening in the Shadow and Bone storyline. That's been the heavy lifting."

Bardugo praised how Heisserer has taken "two fantasy series — with powers and creatures and horrors and heists — and molded them into this cohesive, incredible thing." It should reassure fans that Bardugo said "I don't think I could've been more lucky in the person that we found to hand the keys over to."

There will also be all-new character interactions, since the cohesive approach will highlight meetings not seen in the books.

"I get most excited talking about certain characters meeting certain other characters — meetings that don't happen in the books because they're set on different timelines," Heisserer said. "But they happen in the show, and I believe those moments are meaningful."

It sounds a bit like another Netflix fantasy adaptation, The Witcher, whose main storytelling trick in season 1 was to divide screen time equally among Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, cutting between their individual stories even though they were all taking place at different points in time.

Shadow and Bone stars newcomer Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov, Ben Barnes (Westworld) as General Kirigan, Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev, Amita Suman as Inej, and Kit Young as Jesper Fahey. Watch the teaser above, ahead of its debut on Netflix in the spring.

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