Shadow and Bone Season 2 is coming to Netflix soon. Ever since the fantasy series released its pilot season in April 2021, viewers were eager for a follow up season. The series is based on two popular sets of novels by Leigh Bardugo. These are the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, both of which dive into Bardugo’s Grishaverse.
Developed by Eric Heisserer, the show currently has a 7.6 out of 10 IMDb rating. Further, it also has an 88% overall Rotten Tomatoes rating. It became the 8th most watched television show on Netflix. Moreover, it also held the #1 spot on the streaming site in 79 countries. These figures go on to show the popularity of the show amongst its viewers. Judging by the response, the team renewed the series for a sophomore installment in June 2021. Here’s everything you need to know about Shadow And Bone Season 2.
Shadow And Bone Season 2 Cast
The team did not release an exact list of cast members for Shadow and Bone Season 2. However, fans have a good idea of who would return for the sophomore installment. We believe that most of the cast members would reprise their roles in the second season.
- In the lead, Jessie Mei Li returns as Alina Starkov, an orphan girl and a former assistant cartographer in the First Army for the Royal Corps of Surveyors. Starkov discovers her power of being a Sun Summoner. She can control the light, making her a very rare Grisha. Mei Li is an English actress who previously appeared in All About Eve and Last Night in Soho. Kaylan Teague plays the role of Young Alina.
- Archie Renaux returns as Malyen “Mal” Oretsev. He is Alina’s childhood best friend and an orphan tracker in the First Army. Renaux previously appeared in BBC One’s miniseries, Gold Digger. Cody Molko plays Young Mal.
- Freddy Carter plays Kaz Brekker, the Bastard of the Barrel and the leader of the Dirtyhands Crows. Carter previously starred in Netflix’s Free Rein as Pin Hawthorne.
- Amita Suman plays Inej Ghafa, the Wraith -a member of the Crows. Suman had a recurring role as Naya in CW’s The Outpost.
- Kit Young plays Jesper Fahey, a sharpshooter, who is also a member of the Crows. Young is a theater actor who made his television debut in 2019 as a guest star. He is set to appear in the upcoming film, The Origin.
- Ben Barnes returns as General Aleksander Kirigan/The Darkling. He is a Shadow Summoner and also the general of the Second Army. Barnes’ most prominent roles are that of Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia, Billy Russo/Jigsaw in The Punisher, and Logan Delos in Westworld.
- Calahan Skogman reprises his role of Matthias, a witch hunter involved in the capture of Nina.
- Danielle Galligan gets promoted to a series regular as Nina Zenik. Nina is a Heartrender who gets captured by the witch hunters in season 1.
- Daisy Heads also gets promoted to series regular as Genya Sakin, the only known Grisha Tailor and Alina’s friend.
There are newer cast members joining the sophomore season as well. These include:
- Patrick Gibson as Prince Nikolai Lantsov -he has an alter ego by the name of Sturmhond, who recruits mercenaries and soldiers to assist Ravka. Gibson previously appeared in a prominent role in The OA on Netflix.
- Lewis Tan as Tolya Yul-Bataar, a mercenary who is part of Sturmhond’s crew. Tan’s most notable roles include that of Lu Xin Lee in Netflix’s Wu Assassins and Cole Young in Mortal Kombat.
- Anna Leong Brophy is Tamar Kir-Bataar, Tolya’s sister, and a Grisha Heartrender who carries two axes. Brophy previously appeared on Black and Traces.
- Jack Wolfe as Wylan Hendriks. Hendriks was the son of a rich businessman who joined the Crows and entered the criminal world as a demolition expert and chemist. Wolfe’s previously notable role is that of Nadbor in Netflix’s The Witcher.
Shadow And Bone Season 2 Filming Updates and Potential Release Date
While many hoped that this meant that filming would start soon, filming did not start till January of 2022. Regardless of the late start to filming, on 6th June 2022, the team announced that filming for the second season was now complete. This announcement was made in a Twitter post during Netflix’s GeekedWeek. The 2 minute-long video had some of the show’s most loved cast members revealing the big news regarding filming. They also went on to answer the most frequently asked questions by the fans.
Given that filming is now complete, fans expect that the show would drop its second installment very soon. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. Season 1 of Shadow and Bone had a year’s gap between the end of filming and its Netflix release. Therefore, it is possible that the second season may follow the same trend. For fantasy series such as this, there is a lot of work that goes into post-production. Hence, the team requires more time to wrap it up.
Although, these delays may be attributed to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless, it is unlikely that Shadow and Bone Season 2 would release before late 2022. We predict the earliest date for the show to release to be somewhere in mid or late December 2022. Reports from Hollywood Reporter also hint toward this 2022 release date. However, a spring or early summer 2023 release date is more plausible.
Shadow and Bone Season 2 Plot
As the series follows the storyline of the Grishaverse books, Shadow and Bone Season 2 is likely to follow the plot of Siege and Storm -the second book in the trilogy. As we move into the second season, we will see Alina and Mal trying to maintain a low profile, to stay away from the Darkling. The Darkling can now summon an army of shadows at his will. This leads to a battle between the crown loyalists and the Darkling loyalists. Stuck between all of this is Alina. However, it seems inevitable that there would be a peaceful resolution. A catastrophic climax finale is likely to happen for season 2.
Furthermore, beyond Siege and Storm, the second season may include additional storylines as well, from other books. The first season also had bits from Six of Crows. Therefore, Bardugo believes that showrunner Eric may do the same for Shadow and Bone Season 2. Bits from novellas such as The Language of Thorns and The Demon in the Wood may possibly make it to the second installment.
Trailer
Unfortunately for fans, the team is yet to reveal the trailer for Shadow and Bone Season 2. With filming wrapped up almost 2 months ago, we hope that a trailer would release soon. Given that a December release date is possible, we expect the trailer to release sometime in September or October (at the earliest).
