Shadow and Bone Comes to Netflix

Netflix has a trend of making awesome books into awesome movies or series, and this upcoming one seems to be no exception. 

“Shadow and Bone” is an upcoming Netflix series set to premiere on April 23, 2021. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s “Grishaverse series”, which consists of the Grisha trilogy and Dregs duology. 

With its incredibly diverse and complex set of characters paired with thrilling adventures, this book series has become incredibly popular among teen and young adult readers. 

“With over 2.5 million copies sold in the English language alone, Bardugo’s “Grishaverse” books have been translated into 38 languages around the world to date,” according to Deadline.com. 

The book series itself has received high praise, a lot of fans are excited to see their favorite characters brought to life. 

The production team seems to have some great people who are going to make that happen. Not only do they have the author, Bardugo, onboard, but they also have executive producers Shawn Levy (producer for “Stranger Things”) and Eric Heisserer (writer and producer for “Birdbox”). 

Those three people alone is a good reason to think that the series is in good hands.

As a fan of the books, Johanna Widenhoefer, senior, is cautious but hopeful. 

“I hope it successfully does justice to the books and can manage two separate storylines in a way that makes sense,” says Widenhoefer. 

The “Grisha” trilogy follows a soldier named Alina and her discovery of her rare newfound powers. While the “Dregs” duology follows a gang consisting of Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, and Matthias on an extravagant heist. 

Both of which will be taking place in the show. Everything is happening in the same universe but it just features different characters, which is the same as in books. 

“One of the things I love about the “Grishaverse” was its diverse characters. I’m happy to see that they have a diverse cast that actually fit the look and feel of the characters aesthetically,” said Widenheofer. “As for acting, I’m hopeful, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The cast is bringing a lot of new faces to the screen, such as Jessie Mei Li as Alina and Kit Young as Jesper. As well as more seasoned actors such as Ben Barnes as General Kirigan. 

Many fans are excited for the series to hopefully gain traction. While the series is only set for one season, there is plenty of more source material for possible future seasons.

“I would highly recommend everyone go read the series. Because it truly is an extraordinary series that any fan of fantasy or adventure will enjoy,” said Widenhoefer.