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- Netflix did not renew Shadow & Bones for season 3 again.
- Shadow & Bones season 2 premiered on March 16, 2023.
- Shadow & Bones the showrunners have big plans for season 3.
Shadow & Bones returned for an epic second season on March 16, 2023. The 8-episode season ended with a jaw-dropping finale that set the stage for an expansive third season. So is Shadow & Bones is season 3 happening?
At Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse is vast, and the Shadow & Bones the showrunners have exciting plans for the future of the series. HollywoodLife gathered all the latest news on Shadow & Bones season 3.
Will there be a Shadow & Bones Season 3?
It is to be determined. In March 2023, Netflix did not renew Shadow & Bones for season 3 again. The second season dropped on March 16 and has already taken the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in the United States.
There are still plenty of stories to be drawn from the Grishaverse novels, so Shadow & Bones season 3 seems like a solid bet. Don’t Leave Us Hanging, Netflix!
Shadow & Bones Season 3 release date
From Shadow & Bones has not been renewed for season 3, there is no release date yet. If Netflix renews the fantasy series, the show’s third season likely won’t air until late 2024 or early 2025.
The first season premiered on April 23, 2021. The show was renewed for season 2 in June 2021, but season 2 only aired on March 16, 2023. Shadow & Bones season 2 took almost 6 months to film, so the series would need time to plan and film a third season.
Shadow & Bones Cast of Season 3
Whether Shadow & Bones returns for Season 3, you can expect the incredible ensemble cast to return. This includes Jessie Mei Li like Alina, Archie Renaux like Evil, Freddy Carter like Kaz, Amita Souman like Inej, Young Kit like Jesper, Danielle Galligan like Nina, daisy head like Genya Safin, Calahan Skogman like Mathias, Lewis Tan like Tolia, Anna Leong Brophy like Tamar, Jack Wolf like Wylan, and Patrick Gibson like Nikolai Lantsov.
But what about Ben Barnes? General Kirigan seems to meet his end in the Season 2 finale. It’s hard to believe the show wouldn’t want Ben to be a part of the show in the future, so he can return in a new way in season 3. The possibilities are there!
Will there be a Shadow & Bones Spin off?
Maybe! Shadow & Bones showrunner Eric Heisserer has been “quietly at work” developing a Six of Ravens fallout, according to EO. The show is “in its early stages and is not about to get the green light”.
Eric revealed that spinoffs depend on the quality Shadow & Bones season 2 plays for Netflix. “There is a lot of work that has gone into planning this. The hope then is that we can act on this planning,” said Eric EO. “But of course it’s about the quality of the numbers in season 2. And if that’s the case, then Daegan and I will continue to carry the mantle of both shows, which is also helpful because we have a lot of mouths to feed… Being able to give them their own real estate so they have the wiggle room allows us to dig deeper into some of these character arcs.
How did you Shadow & Bones End of season 2?
So many things have happened in Shadow & Bones season 2, but let’s start with that smile in the final moments of the season 2 finale. During Nikolai and Alina’s coronation, an assassin Fjerdan uses the drug jurda parem and his own amplified gifts to wreak havoc.
Alina stops the woman using the Cut, but there’s a catch. She summons shadow instead of light magic, meaning Alina’s power was altered after saving Mal’s life and defeating the Darkling. In the final moments of the Season 2 finale, Alina looks up with a smile on her face. Looks like Shadow & Bones has a new Shadow Summoner in his hands.
Although this ending incorporates aspects of what happens in the books, the series shakes things up a bit. “We wanted to pivot, you know, keeping something but making it radically different from what we expected,” the showrunner said. Daegan Fryklind said EO.
Before all this, Alina kills Kirigan. He warns her before he dies that without him “they will come looking for her”. He also begs her to make sure “nothing is left” of him. While this is happening, Nina works to save Mal. When her efforts don’t work, Alina uses merzost to revive him, even though she’s been warned never to use it.
Eric revealed to EO this season 3 would explore stories in the Grishaverse that don’t stem directly from the books. “We did that a bit with the Crows prequel story in Season 1,” he said. “And now we can do it with some of the shadow and bone characters.”
The showrunner added: “Luckily, we’re creating all-new material for the actors we know, love, and trust who will carry the water for us on this. And it’s weaving their story with the king of scars duology we’re already in love with, and what we think will come to life on screen from those. So it’s about stitching them together the same way we stitched other characters in those first two seasons.
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