‘Shadow and Bone’ Season 2: Everything to Know About New Cast, Release Date and More

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

'Shadow and Bone' Season 2: Everything to Know About New Cast, Release Date and More

Thank the saints! Shadow and Bone is coming back to Netflix for a second season — and the Grisha universe will just keep getting bigger. Season 1 introduced Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), a cartographer who learns she has a very rare ability to control light. General Aleksandr Kirigan (Ben Barnes) takes her under his wing, but it quickly becomes clear that he has an ulterior motive. In another part of the show's fictional universe, Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) leads a gang called the Crows. He and his crew — Jesper (Kit Young) and Inej (Amita Suman) — eventually cross paths with Alina when they try to kidnap her, but she eludes their pursuit. The season ended with the characters believing that they had successfully finished off Kirigan, a.k.a. the Darkling, after discovering that he was evil. The last few minutes of the finale, however, revealed that he survived and learned how to command the volcra, which are undead creatures previously thought to be immune to human influence. [jwplayer ZJNBMein-zhNYySv2] “He’s the most powerful [person] in the universe, manipulates the darkness and is feared by other people because he’s employing this politics of fear to push his agenda," Barnes exclusively told Us Weekly of his character in April 2021. “I’ve played boy with sword, going to rescue damsel and defeat the dragon. I played that in the fantasy world, but not this. But then what really interests me is the idea that every person has the capacity to be everything.” Leigh Bardugo, who wrote the novels that inspired the series, doesn't think Kirigan will take his season 1 setback very well in future episodes. "He has suffered the first defeat in a very long time at the hands of somebody who he really believed he understood and had under his control," she told Entertainment Weekly in April 2021. "So, I think we're going to see a real reckoning." While season 2 draws some inspiration from Siege and Storm, the second book in Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy, Barnes warned fans that his character will be slightly different in the show than he was on the page. "I think the character becomes a bit more representative in Alina’s mind of what the darkness is and a bit symbolic, and I wanted to keep him as a human being," the Westworld alum told Collider in April 2021. “He’s manyfold more powerful, now that he has the walking, living volcra that he can summon and send at his will without even having to use his hands to use magic." Keep scrolling for everything we know about Shadow and Bone season 2:

Credit: David Appleby/Netflix

Who's Coming Back?

Barnes, Li, Carter, Young and Suman are all returning, along with Daisy Head (Genya), Danielle Galligan (Nina), Calahan Skogman (Matthias), Sujaya Dasgupta (Zoya) and Archie Renaux (Mal). 

Credit: Dávid Lukács/Netflix © 2022

Who Are the New Cast Members?

Patrick Gibson will play Nikolai Lantsov, who becomes an ally of Alina's in Siege and Storm. His character is also at the center of the action in the prequel novel King of Scars. Jack Wolfe is joining the cast as Wylan Hendriks, a character who was named Wylan Van Eck in Six of Crows. Lewis Tan and Anna Leong Brophy will star as the twins Tolya Yul-Battar and Tamar Kir-Battar, respectively.  

Credit: David Appleby/Netflix

What's Going to Happen?

Given the new cast announcements, it seems likely that season 2 will incorporate events from Siege and Storm and Six of Crows. In Siege and Storm, Alina tries to make a life with Mal while hiding her identity as the Sun Summoner. The Darkling, meanwhile, has emerged from hiding and is once again trying to take control of Ravka. In Six of Crows, Kaz and his gang join up with Matthias and Nina to break into a prison in Matthias' native country of Fjerda. 

Credit: Katalin Vermes/Netflix

Are They Finished Filming?

The cast made an appearance during Netflix’s Geeked Week in June 2022, to announce they had finished filming the show’s second season.

In the two-minute video, the stars answered questions to tease viewers about what the next installment has in store. "Love," "Power," "Heartbreak," "Bigger" and "Badder" were just a few of the words used to describe the new season.

Credit: Youtube

When Does It Premiere?

In December 2022, the official Instagram account for the fantasy series announced that season 2 will premiere on March 16, 2023.

"You're not ready," the caption read, alongside several photos from the upcoming installment. 

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Is There a Trailer for ‘Shadow and Bone’ Season 2?

Shadow and Bone released a one-minute video during TUDUM in September 2022, in which fans got a brief glimpse at some of the hijinks that Alina, Mal and the Crows get up to during the new episodes. And yes, Nikolai even made a cameo.

Barnes’ Darkling then mysteriously added: “Are you ready to sacrifice what is most precious to you?"

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

What Has the ‘Shadow and Bone’ Creative Team Said About Season 2?

“The most wonderful thing about season 2 is that we get to advance the story of these characters that we’d left in precarious positions at the end of season 1,” showrunner Eric Heisserer told Deadline in December 2022. “There’s a lot of potential for them this season. They have to face the consequences for their actions, and then they get to meet new people along the way.”

Netflix further teased the arrival of Grishaverse’s new faces with a series of first look images later that month. In one snap, five of the Crows (minus Calahan Skogman’s Matthias) somberly peek over a building ledge as they plot their next move. Other photos show off Mal and Alina’s quests to locate elusive amplifiers and the introduction of Prince Nikolai.

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

An Epic Showdown

A season 2 trailer released in February 2023 promises a major conflict between Alina, who's seemingly realized her full power, and Kirigan, who now has a shadow army at his command. "Are you willing to sacrifice that which is most precious to you?" Kirigan asks at one point. Elsewhere in the clip, Alina goes to Baghra for advice while Kaz and his gang continue on their moneymaking mission.