Will We Get a Season 3 of 'Shadow and Bone'?
A third season of Shadow and Bone has yet to be *summoned*, but fans have been clamoring for more since the release of Season 2. Although Netflix has not renewed the fantasy series, Entertainment Weekly previously reported that showrunners Eric Heisserer and Daegan Fryklind were looking to adapt the novel King of Scars "in a potential Season 3."
Shadow and Bone, which is based on Leigh Bardugo's bestselling Grishaverse novels, first premiered in 2021 and was followed up with a second season two years later. While we wait for the return of Alina Starkov, Mal and the rest of the Grishaverse characters, here is everything we know about a potential third season of Shadow and Bone.
What is the release date for Season 3 of Shadow and Bone?
Before fans can mark a premiere date in their calendars, the series has to be renewed. The most recent season of Shadow and Bone premiered on March 16, 2023, nearly two years after the series debuted in April 2021.
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How to watch Shadow and Bone
Shadow and Bone is a Netflix production. Like the first two seasons, which are currently streaming, the third season would be available on Netflix.
Is there a trailer for Season 3 of Shadow and Bone?
As previously mentioned, the series has not been renewed for a third season, but if and when a trailer drops, you can expect to see it here!
Who is in the Shadow and Bone Season 3 cast?
Viewers will have to wait and see who returns for Season 3, but it seems safe to assume that Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov) will reprise her role. Following the Season 2 finale, Heisserer told Newsweek "What I can say is we definitely wanted to hang onto Jessie with all our lives," adding, "We weren't about to retire Alina here at the end of this season. There's just so much more to do with her, and to enjoy with her."
In addition to Li, the Season 2 cast included Archie Renaux (Malyen Oretsev), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik), Daisy Head (Genya Safin), Calahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar), Lewis Tan (Tolya Yul-Bataar), Anna Leong Brophy (Tamar Kir-Bataar), Jack Wolfe (Wylan Hendriks), Patrick Gibson (Nikolai Lantsov) and Ben Barnes (General Kirigan).
*SPOILER* One character who might not be featured in a potential third season is General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) who died in the Season 2 finale.
How did Season 2 of Shadow and Bone end?
*SPOILERS* The Shadow Fold finally came down in Season 2. Alina did so by killing Mal, who was the third amplifier. But never fear, she later brought him back to life using merzost, which Alina had swore she would never use (recall Baghra once told her, "You will not know what price it demands until it is too late").
After bringing down the Shadow Fold, Alina, the Sun Summoner, killed The Darkling a.k.a. General Kirigan. "Alina, you make sure there is nothing left of me. Please. Please," he told her before dying. However, there seems to be black magic now in Nikolai, who was injured by one of Kirigan's nichevo'ya.
Before his coronation, Nikolai sees a shadow monster in the mirror instead of his reflection and a wound on his back is revealed. Gibson, who plays Nikolai, told Tudum, "And at the end, after having been impaled by one of the Darkling’s shadow monsters, there’s definitely some black magic gone into him."
In the finale, Kaz talks of a new weapon that is about to hit the market. According to Carter's character, the drug called jurda parem "could make the destruction of the Shadow Fold seem like a spring picnic." Kaz noted that if the "Fjerdans weaponize this drug, the consequences would be unimaginable." Meanwhile, a woman speaking Fjerdan, who appears to be on the drug, attacks guests at Nikolai's coronation. Alina stops her by performing the Cut, which is dark rather than light. The finale ends with a small smile from Alina.
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What will happen in Season 3 of Shadow and Bone?
It's been reported that the Shadow and Bone showrunners were looking to adapt the novel King of Scars "in a potential Season 3." Speaking to Newsweek about Alina's Season 2 finale twist, Heisserer said "there had to be a price for using Merzost to bring Mal back, and we landed on what you saw for the final scene as a way for her to confront all the things that Kirigan may have been warning her about, and, where we go in the next season, we'll absolutely touch on that.
"It seems that what we try our best to do in the end of each season is tee up what the next season's major internal conflicts are going to be, and these end episodes are the 'f*** around' chapter and the top of the next season will be the 'find out' chapter," Heisserer added.
As for Nikolai, Fryklind told Entertainment Weekly, "We're more interested in the psychological aspect of being infected by this rather than the physical aspect. We're looking at an exciting next phase for this character, a kind of Jekyll and Hyde aspect."
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