Shadow and Bone Season 2 will be much more dense than fans had previously expected. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunners Eric Heisserer and Daegan Fryklind announced that their Netflix original series will adapt the next two books in Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy, rather than just one. This tidbit has many fans worried that Shadow and Bone is facing an imminent cancellation.
Shadow and Bone is unique among fantasy book adaptations, as it has already remixed some material from Bardugo’s work. Bardugo created her “Grishaverse” in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, then wrote the Six of Crows duology as a separate story later in the timeline. In Season 1, the TV show adapted the first novel Shadow and Bone but added in the characters from Six of Crows, but it didn’t delve too deeply into the events of the Six of Crows novel since it takes place further down the timeline. Some fans expected more Six of Crows events in the next season, but Heisserer and Fryklind are throwing them a curveball.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Shadow and Bone Season 2 will cover the sequel to Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, as expected, and the showrunners say it will also cover the third book Ruin and Rising. This is especially surprising for fans who expected it to continue at its existing pace while adding in elements from Six of Crows or its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Heisserer told EW that they surprised plenty of people with this plan – including Bardugo.
“Multiple books for sure,” Heisserer said. “We touch on a few others in Leigh’s catalog. There’s a piece that’s integral to the story that was Daegan’s idea that I’m particularly excited about. I don’t think the fans are gonna see that one coming ’cause it’s a pretty deep cut.”
“I don’t even think that Leigh saw it coming,” Fryklind added. This announcement made some fans understandably nervous. On social media, many speculated that Shadow and Bone might be on Netflix’s chopping block, and the rush through the trilogy might be an attempt to finish the story while they have a chance. Some expected this to make Season 2 less enjoyable overall, as it will have to cover two books’ worth of events in just eight episodes.
On the other hand, this could be a sign that Heisserer, Fryklind and the rest of the team are sticking to the source material more closely than fans expected. In the books, Six of Crows begins about two years after the ending of the previous trilogy, and this timeline is important because the events of the disparate stories influence each other. However, the TV show pulled the Six of Crows characters into the first trilogy, making some viewers think they would change the flow of events in the on-screen version.
Instead, Heisserer and Fryklind may be indicating that they intend to wrap up Shadow and Bone to do the Six of Crows story more faithfully as it was written in the books. After that, there are two more books in Bardugo’s Grishaverse that could be adapted – King of Scars and Rule of Wolves. This would certainly make fans happy, although none could be blamed for being pessimistic about Netflix cancellations at this point.
Either way, we will see the results for ourselves soon enough. Shadow and Bone Season 2 premieres on March 16, 2023 on Netflix.
