Shadow and Bone spoilers follow.
Shadow and Bone finally returned for season two, with General Kirigan (aka The Darkling) bigger, badder, and more powerful than ever before.
Our Sun Summoner Alina had a lot on her plate in the second season, forced to protect Ravka from further chaos by attempting to bring down the Fold and Kirigan's reign of terror once and for all. (With some new allies in tow, of course.)
But what does the future now hold for Alina and co?
Here’s everything you need to know about Shadow and Bone season three.
Shadow and Bone season 3 potential release date: When will it be on?
While we still don't have official word on a show renewal, Shadow and Bone's wild success makes third season more or less a sure thing.
After all, showrunner Eric Heisserer previously told Collider that he's always had a "three-season plan" for the show.
Author Leigh Bardugo, meanwhile, has slightly bigger hopes for the Grishaverse, telling Inverse that she'd "love to see us get another five seasons." Now that would be epic.
Shadow and Bone's first season was released on Netflix in April 2021, but it was nearly a two-year wait for season two thanks a to a little something called the pandemic.
However, production on TV shows and movies is in full swing again, so based on the release dates of the previous two seasons, our best guess is that Shadow and Bone will return for a third season in the spring of next year.
Jessie Mei has spoken about the cast's enthusiasm for another round of the Shadow and Bone story in a recent interview with Collider – and even said there are "definitely plans in the works".
"There have definitely been discussions about where our characters might go, but with the nature of streamers, it’s down to how many people watch the show and what the response is like," she said.
"I just really hope people watch it and enjoy it because I would love to go again and finish that story to see what happens to Alina. They’ve left it in a really exciting place, and I think it would be such a shame to finish the story there."
As always, we'll let you know as soon as we hear something more definite.
Shadow and Bone season 3 cast: Who will be in it?
If Shadow and Bone returns for season three, we would expect all of the following cast members to return:
• Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov
• Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker
• Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa
• Kit Young as Jesper Fahey
• Archie Renaux as Mal Oretsev
• Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik
• Zoë Wanamaker as Baghra
• Luke Pasqualino as David Kostyk
Nikolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson), Wylan Hendriks (Jack Wolfe), and the twins, Tolya (Lewis Tan) and Tamar (Anna Leong Brophy), were some of the newest additions to season two, so expect to see them all back for round three as well.
One major character who might not return is General Kirigan, aka The Darkling, after what happened to him in the season-two finale. Still though, it's weird to imagine this show losing Ben Barnes completely as he remains the biggest name in the cast, so there might be some scope to bring him back via magic and/or flashbacks, as fantasy shows are wont to do.
Shadow and Bone season 3 plot: What will the third season be about?
No plot details for season three have been revealed just yet and Leigh Bardugo's novels aren't going to be a huge help when it comes to predicting what's coming next, as season two has already covered huge swathes of the source material.
The second batch of episodes followed both the second and third books from the Shadow and Bone trilogy in rapid succession, as well as elements from other Grishaverse books including Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.
However, that doesn't mean there isn't more story to tell. The season-two finale sort of ends where the original book trilogy does, with the Darkling's death. However, Alina and Mal end up with a happy ending after everyone believes Alina is dead, freeing her up to assume a new identity and reopen the orphanage they grew up in together.
Netflix's adaptation veers drastically away from this by splitting the pair up at the end of season two while also introducing a new darkness into Alina's world. The ultimate end of this series could mirror the books eventually, but there's a lot of new ground to cover in season three first that fans of the books will be blind to moving forward.
Ben Barnes said he is still in the dark as to what could come next in the storyline, but said Shadow and Bone is "poised very beautifully" for a Six of Crows story.
He told Cosmopolitan: "I’m a huge fan of those next two books, which obviously don’t involve the Darkling. I’ve not been included beyond this moment, so who knows?"
Meanwhile, Jessie Mei Li told Collider that she and her co-stars would "love" to move forward with season three, adding that there are "definitely plans in the works".
"There have been discussions about where our characters might go, but with the nature of streamers, it’s down to how many people watch the show and what the response is like," she continued.
"I just really hope people watch it and enjoy it because I would love to go again and finish that story to see what happens to Alina. Equally, I’ve also had the most wonderful time on Shadow and Bone and I will always cherish it so much. Watch our show, please, so I can go and play with my friends again. I was very affected by the ending. They’ve left it in a really exciting place, and I think it would be such a shame to finish the story there."
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