Warning: The following Shadow and Bone season 2 piece contains massive spoilers for the Netflix series, as well as the Leigh Bardugo Grisha-verse novels! Look away now if you don't want potential Shadow and Bone season 2 spoilers!
Shadow and Bone has been streaming on Netflix for a while now, and it's proved to be very popular. The big question on everyone's mind when the final credits rolled on that dramatic cliffhanger was whether the series would get a season 2 or not. The good news is that we finally have an answer: at day one of the Netflix GEEKED Week event, it was revealed by the cast that Shadow and Bone season 2 is coming.
The first season of the series followed Alina as she grew into her powers as the legendary Sun Summoner, and got closer to the mysterious General Kirigan. Meanwhile, Kaz, Jesper, and Inej had their own scheme involving Alina – while Nina and Matthias undertook their perilous journey together. The finale ended with a bang and a lot of tantalizingly unresolved plot threads. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about what might happen next in Shadow and Bone season 2 based on the books – as well as what's been said about the second season so far.
Will there be a Shadow and Bone season 2?
Good news, Grisha fans! Shadow and Bone is officially getting a season 2. There's no word on a release date just yet, though.
Before the show was confirmed to have a second season, showrunner Eric Heisserer explained to Collider that he pitched the series as three seasons.
He also indicated he had ideas for season 2: "If you were to see my home office right now, I do look like one of those crazy people with the murder board where there's just a bunch of maps and charts and string connecting things," he told Collider. "I have exhaustive plans and would love to activate them. I've been thinking about this for several years now, and so the creative team and I are ready to roll if we hear that we get to come back."
Plus, in a roundtable attended by 12DOVE, Heisserer even hinted at the chance of spinoffs in the future. Answering why the decision was made to combine the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows storylines into one series, he explained: "You really don't have a chance for a spinoff if you don't introduce those characters in the first series, because then no one has a chance to see those people on their feet."
He added: "There's still a possibility that some of these characters can go off on their own later on."
There's still a lot of ground left to cover, as Shadow and Bone only adapted events from the first book in the trilogy, and didn't really touch on the story of Six of Crows. So what could the future of the series look like?
Siege and Storm: Alina's story
At the start of the second book in the trilogy, Siege and Storm, Mal and Alina are in hiding. The Darkling is hot on their trail, though, and they all meet again sooner rather than later. That new power Kirigan used in the Shadow and Bone finale will probably turn out to be the same one he possesses in Siege and Storm, the second book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy – that he can now manifest shadow creatures.
The events of the novel also bring a new character into the roster: ship captain Sturmhond, who turns out to actually be a prince of Ravka named Nikolai. He causes some disruption to the burgeoning love triangle between Alina, Mal, and Kirigan, because he wants to make Alina his queen. Plus, back in Ravka, something of a religious frenzy builds around Alina – and we saw the groundwork for her exalted status in the eyes of the public being laid in season 1. Alina also becomes leader of the Second Army, which is quite a promotion from her time as a mapmaker.
Meanwhile, it turns out that there's a second and third amplifier, like Morozova's stag. Alina needs these if she wants to boost her powers enough to take on the Darkling – who is still intent on getting to her.
Six of Crows: Kaz, Jesper, and Inej's story
The entirety of the Six of Crows duology takes place after the Shadow and Bone novels, so we haven't actually seen anything in them onscreen just yet – besides Nina and Matthias' story, which is told via flashback in Six of Crows. That means season 2 could once again head off in an entirely new direction, or could adapt the events of the novel.
In the book, much like in season 1, the Crows have a massive (and dangerous) heist on their hands. This time round, they need to go into Fjerda – that's the nation of witch hunters, from which Matthias hails – and break into a prison that might as well be Fort Knox. They're on the trail of the creator of a mysterious drug known as jurda parem, which makes Grisha power stronger.
But, remember Pekka Rollins? He also wants to nab the scientist, which puts him and the Crows at odds once again.
As for Matthias, he's still in jail at the start of Six of Crows. At the end of Shadow and Bone we saw the events leading to his imprisonment play out: to keep him safe from the Grisha coming to retrieve her, Nina falsely accused Matthias of being a slaver. The Crows spring him from Hellgate prison to help with the heist – though he's not happy to see Nina again.
We also get introduced to a new character named Wylan Van Eck, who joins the Crows on their job. He's not quite the accomplished criminal like the rest of the crew, however, so we can count on him to bring some comic relief in season 2. Heisserer actually confirmed to Collider that a potential season 2 would bring Wylan into the cast of characters: "I can tease this much that there will be a hundred percent more Wylan. We'd like to introduce him for sure."
Heisserer also said he'd like to keep the Crows closer to home next time around: "We would like to spend at least a little bit more time in Ketterdam. We kind of had to yoink our Crows away from that in season 1 and throw them toward the Fold and beyond for their heist. And I think at least part of next season should be a home game for our team."
While we wait for Shadow and Bone season 2, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows you can stream right now.
